Jason Statham Returns In MEG 2: THE TRENCH Out Aug 4 2023

Get ready for the ultimate adrenaline rush this summer in “Meg 2: The Trench,” a literally larger-than-life thrill ride that supersizes the 2018 blockbuster and takes the action to higher heights and even greater depths with multiple massive Megs and so much more! Dive into uncharted waters with Jason Statham and global action icon Wu Jing as they lead a daring research team on an exploratory dive into the deepest depths of the ocean. Their voyage spirals into chaos when a malevolent mining operation threatens their mission and forces them into a high-stakes battle for survival. Pitted against colossal Megs and relentless environmental plunderers, our heroes must outrun, outsmart, and outswim their merciless predators in a pulse-pounding race against time. Immerse yourself in the most electrifying cinematic experience of the year with “Meg 2: The Trench” – where the depths of the ocean are matched only by the heights of sheer, unstoppable excitement!

This time around, filmmakers were determined to out-Meg “The Meg” by creating their Apex Meg—a grizzled veteran covered in scars; the unrelenting machine of death is larger than anything conceived for the original film. Director Ben Wheatley said, “He’s a guy who’s had loads of bar fights.”

Filmmakers also embraced their prehistoric side by creating their own version of predators from eons long past that emerge from beneath the thermocline:

Snappers: Inspired by a dinosaur called Koreanosaurus—an herbivore that walked on all fours and sported a beak—filmmakers created Snappers, a mighty carnivore with a low, muscular body, sharp teeth and insatiable appetite. Wheatley said, “It’s a Goldilocks thing—they’re not too big and they’re not too small, otherwise the audience might feel sorry for them.”

Mega-Octopus: Classed as “only slightly less terrifying than the Meg,” the mountainous version of the familiar sea creature wreaks havoc in the trench and later, when it ventures to the shallows of the ocean. “I gotta say, from a Ray Harryhausen point of view, I’m massively into giant tentacles,” said Wheatley.

Devising every terrifying act of the Megs began in the same place, according to Wheatley: “All the action with the sharks started with a pencil, me just sitting down and drawing, and thinking about what would be really fun to see. Then, I would go to our storyboard artist, Jake Lunt Davies, and together we would work out what the sequence was going to be. From there to the computer animators, who’d rough a version, then we’d cut that into the film, and then we’d go and shoot it.” Many steps would follow and the whole journey for each shark encounter—from pencil to feature—took roughly six months. For the director, once the Meg turned up in post-production, “We were like, ‘Oh. My. God!’”

Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura admitted, “There was a little bit of uncertainty with the first film how the comedy would play for the audience. But they really bought into the notion of “Let’s not take ourselves too seriously—let’s have some fun and some scares.” This time around, we’ll have some more scares, a little more carnage in and out of the water, two globally popular actors in Jason Statham and Wu Jing, some new cast members, more action… and more Megs. It’s a balance between reminding them of what they really loved and the characters they loved, and then giving them a new experience.”

Warner Bros. Pictures and CMC Pictures present “Meg 2: The Trench,” with Statham and Jing headlining an ensemble cast that also includes Sophia Cai (“The Meg”), Page Kennedy (“The Meg”), Sergio Peris-Mencheta (“Rambo: Last Blood”), Skyler Samuels (“The Gifted”), and Cliff Curtis (“Avatar” franchise).

“Meg 2: The Trench” is directed by Ben Wheatley (“In the Earth,” “Free Fire”), from a screenplay by Jon Hoeber & Erich Hoeber (“The Meg,” “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts”) and Dean Georgaris (“The Meg,” “Lara Croft: Toom Raider – The Cradle of Life”), and a screen story by Dean Georgaris and Jon Hoeber & Erich Hoeber, based on the novel The Trench by Steve Alten. The film is produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura (“The Meg,” “Bumblebee”) and Belle Avery (“The Meg,” “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead”), and executive produced by Jason Statham, Cate Adams, Ruigang Li, Catherine Xujun Ying, Wu Jing, E. Bennett Walsh, Erik Howsam, Gerald R. Molen and Randy Greenberg.

Joining director Wheatley behind the camera are director of photography Haris Zambarloukous (“Belfast,” “Murder on the Orient Express”), production designer Chris Lowe
(“The Gray Man,” “No Time to Die”) and editor Jonathan Amos (“Baby Driver,” “Paddington 2”). The visual effects supervisor is Pete Bebb (“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” “Inception”), and costume designer is Lindsay Pugh (“The Matrix Resurrections,” “Krypton”). The music is by Harry Gregson-Williams (“The Meg,” “The Martian”).

Warner Bros. Pictures and CMC Pictures present, in association with DF Pictures, a di Bonaventura/Apelles Entertainment, Inc. production, a Ben Wheatley film, “Meg 2: The Trench.” It will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures and is set to open in theaters in North America on August 4, 2023 and internationally beginning 02 August 2023.