The shark thriller has had quite a life in the many decades since Steven Spielberg’s landmark Jaws, but it was only a few years ago that we got a film that actually provided a similarly worthy jolt, with Jaume Collet-Serra’s brilliantly executed The Shallows. This summer, it’s Jason Statham’s turn with The Meg, which certainly bites off a more expansive scope than the Blake Lively-led film.
Ahead of an August release, the first trailer has now arrived which shows off its popcorn-munching, cheeky tone, courtesy of director Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure, Cool Runnings). Seemingly fully self-aware that those buying a ticket want to see Statham destroy some sharks, hopefully it’ll be a fun late summer offering. Also starring Jessica McNamee, Li Bingbing, Winston Chao, Ruby Rose, Rainn Wilson, Cliff Curtis, and Robert Taylor, see the trailer and poster below.
A deep-sea submersible—part of an international undersea observation program—has been attacked by a massive creature, previously thought to be extinct, and now lies disabled at the bottom of the deepest trench in the Pacific…with its crew trapped inside. With time running out, expert deep sea rescue diver Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) is recruited by a visionary Chinese oceanographer (Winston Chao), against the wishes of his daughter Suyin (Li Bingbing), to save the crew—and the ocean itself—from this unstoppable threat: a pre-historic 75-foot-long shark known as the Megalodon. What no one could have imagined is that, years before, Taylor had encountered this same terrifying creature. Now, teamed with Suyin, he must confront his fears and risk his own life to save everyone trapped below
The Meg opens on August 10.