The Meg 3: Everything we know so far

❘ Published: 2023-09-08T16:22:57

Warner Bros.

Now that Meg 2: The Trench has left its bite in theaters, here’s what we know about The Meg 3, from any release date updates to cast and plot speculation, and more.

In 1975, Steven Spielberg changed Hollywood forever with Jaws. Not only was it the first proper summer blockbuster, but it whetted the audience’s appetite for more shark movies; more carnage, more blood, more fear. This is clear by its sequels, especially the one where the great white seemingly tracked Ellen Brody and roared as it reared its head out of the water.

In the five-plus decades since, we’ve had all sorts: the real-life nightmare of Open Water, Blake Lively’s white-knuckle face-off in The Shallows, and a host of bargain-bin goodness from the Sharknado and the Mega Shark franchises. The Meg, released in 2018, was a return to the spirit of Deep Blue Sea: a preposterous story with big-screen-worthy thrills.

Meg 2: The Trench has swam in and out of theaters, so once you come back out of the water, here’s everything we know about The Meg 3 so far.

Is The Meg 3 happening?

Right now, we don’t know – but The Meg 3 could happen.

First of all, both The Meg and Meg 2: The Trench are based on novels written by Steve Alten – and there’s a lot more: six to be exact. So, there’s no shortage of material to adapt.

Secondly, it depends on performance. The first movie grossed more than $530 million, making it a major success at the box office and quickly paving the way for the sequel. If it follows suit with a similar or even larger haul, we’d expect to see a third installment green-lit before the end of 2023.

Director Ben Wheatley spoke to Total Film about the prospects of the threequel. “You don’t want to talk about it until Meg 2 is out,” he said.

“But I hope so. There’s a lot more to explore in that world. It’s very rich. The international-ness of it is very interesting.

“What’s so smart about the first film is that it’s not Rush Hour. It’s not East-meets-West, ‘Oh, we’re all confused about each other.’ It’s just people working together, and being in an everyday adventure, and the people just happen to come from places all over the world. I think that’s good for audiences, and it’s a good message as well.”

Is there a The Meg 3 release date?

As of August 2023, The Meg 3 doesn’t have a release date.

If plans for a third movie go ahead, we’re betting on it hitting cinemas sometime in 2025 at the earliest. While the first film came out in 2018, its development and production were delayed by global restrictions, so another five-year gap wouldn’t be likely.

We’ll update this space upon any further information or updates.

The Meg 3 cast: Who’d be in it?

While unconfirmed, we’d expect The Meg 3 cast to include:

Jason Statham as Jonas Taylor
Shuya Sophia Cai as Meiying Zhang
Page Kennedy as DJ
Cliff Curtis as James “Mac” Mackreides

Meg 2: The Trench features several new stars, including Wu Jing and Sienna Guillory, but we’ve yet to see the new movie – so we don’t know if they’ll make it out un-chomped.

There’s also the curious matter of Li Bingbing, who hasn’t reprised her role as Zhang Suyin in the sequel, despite her character’s daughter returning. It’s unknown why she hasn’t returned, but perhaps she’ll come back for the third entry.

We’ll update this space with any casting news as and when it’s announced.

The Meg 3 plot: What would it be about?

We don’t have any official details, but The Meg 3 could adapt the story of the third novel in Steve Alten’s series, Meg: Primal Waters.

The official synopsis for the book reads: “18 years have passed since Jonas Taylor last crossed paths with carcharodon Megalodon. Now a middle-aged father of two, he is overwhelmed by mountains of bills and the daily strife of raising a family.

“But life is about to change. A Hollywood television producer wants Jonas to join his new survival series: Daredevils. For the next six weeks, two teams of crazy daredevils on a South Pacific Ocean voyage will try to outperform one another in front of the cameras. Jonas needs the money, and the job of doing the color commentary seems easy enough. But behind the scenes, someone else is pulling the strings. And before it’s over, Jonas will again come face to face with the most dangerous creatures ever to stalk the Earth.”

That’s everything we know about The Meg 3. In the meantime, check out our list of the best shark movies here, how to watch Meg 2: The Trench here, and our other upcoming movie and TV hubs below: