The big screen adaptation of Steve Alten's 1997 novel
Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror is finally on its way after decades of production drama, and we finally have our first look at the upcoming movie, titled
The Meg. Courtesy of Empire, we have our first look at Jason Statham as he's stared down by pre-historic 75-foot-long shark known as the Megalodon.
In addition to the first photo, Statham also opened up about his role in the film.
"I play a former navy captain and diver and I get hired to rescue a team of scientists who are trapped at the bottom of hte sea in their research station by a giant shark. Then all hell breaks loose," the actor teased.
As for why fans should look forward to the movie, Statham simply puts it,
"who doesn’t want to watch a film about the biggest shark that’s ever existed?” Measuring at 75-feet-long, the Megalodon puts the creatures you see on
Shark Week and
Sharknado Week to shame.
For those unfamiliar with the source material, the official synopsis for
The Meg provides a better idea of what to expect.
“In the film, 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…bringing him face to face once more with the greatest and largest predator of all time.”
The Meg swims into theaters August 10, 2018.