Admit it, you forgot they were making a sequel to The Meg. The Jason Statham-led prehistoric shark film did, after all, make $530M back in 2018, so it was always inevitable. But what I’m guessing you didn’t expect was that Ben Wheatley would be the guy to direct it. That came outta friggin’ nowhere.
According to THR, Wheatley will add to his eclectic resume with The Meg 2, with Jason Statham returning to, presumably, battle another megalodon shark from the dinosaur age. The same trio of writers from the first movie, Jon and Erich Hoeber and Dean Georgaris have worked on the screenplay.
Wheatley is one of the most unpredictable directors around, with tastes that tend towards the dark, surreal, and offbeat. His latest film, Rebecca, just released on Netflix this week and is his most mainstream production yet. That said, he’s been inching in this direction for a while. Films such as High-Rise and Free Fire were designed for a wider audience base, while he also recently agreed to direct Alicia Vikander in Tomb Raider 2. Since that film isn’t moving just yet, Wheatley might dive into The Meg first.
