The Meg is a 2018 American science fiction action film directed by Jon Turteltaub from a screenplay by Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, and Erich Hoeber, loosely based on the 1997 novel Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror by Steve Alten.^[3][1] The film stars Jason Statham, Li Bingbing, Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Winston Chao, and Cliff Curtis. In the plot, a group of scientists encounters a 75-foot-long (23 m) megalodon shark while on a rescue mission on the floor of the Pacific Ocean.

Walt Disney Studios originally purchased the film rights to the novel in the 1990s, but the film spent years in development hell. The rights eventually landed at Warner Bros. Pictures, and the film was green-lit in 2013. Turteltaub and much of the cast joined by September 2014. Principal photography began in October 2016 and lasted until January 2017, occurring in New Zealand and China.^[4][5]

The Meg was released in the United States on August 10, 2018. The film received mixed reviews from critics, but was a box office success, grossing over $530 million worldwide against a production budget of $130 million. A sequel, Meg 2: The Trench, was released in 2023, with Georgaris and the Hoebers returning as writers and Statham, Curtis, Sophia Cai and Page Kennedy reprising their roles.

Jonas Taylor is a rescue diver who attempts to save the crew of a damaged nuclear submarine as the hull is being rammed by an unidentified creature. He is forced to flee and leave two of his crewmembers trapped in the sub, as attempting rescue would result in the deaths of everyone they have already saved. His story is dismissed by fellow survivor Dr. Heller, who denounces his actions.

Five years later, billionaire Jack Morris meets Dr. Minway Zhang at the underwater research facility Mana One. Zhang and his oceanographer daughter Suyin supervise a mission to explore a deeper section of the Mariana Trench, previously concealed by a thermocline of hydrogen sulfide. The submersible is piloted by Japanese scientist Toshi, American scientist "The Wall," and Jonas' ex-wife Lori. They are attacked and trapped by a large creature.

Zhang and Jonas' old friend and Mana One operations manager, James "Mac" Mackreides, venture to Thailand to recruit Jonas, now a loner. Suyin attempts the rescue but is attacked by a giant squid that is subsequently killed by an enormous shark. Jonas goes down to save the crew; Toshi sacrifices himself to the shark to help the others escape.

The Mana One crew discovers that the giant shark is a megalodon or "meg", a prehistoric species of shark previously believed to be extinct. When they realize the meg pursued them past the thermacline, they resolve to kill it, knowing modern humans are unequipped to deal with such an ancient creature. After Jonas marks it with a tracker, Suyin enters a shark-proof tank to shoot the meg with poison, which successfully kills the creature.

In their moment of triumph, a second, larger meg emerges, devouring The Wall. It critically wounds Dr. Minway Zhang and Dr. Heller sacrifices himself to save a fellow crewmember. Dr. Minway Zhang dies on the way to rescue.

Back at the station, Morris lies that he has informed all neighboring governments about the meg, and has sent destroyers to torpedo the shark. However, he secretly enlists a mercenary team to kill the meg with depth charges. The team fails and Morris is eaten by the meg. The Mana One crew learns that Morris lied and no one is coming to help them. They decide to kill the meg themselves.

The meg attacks a crowded beach in Sanya Bay in China. Jonas manages to wound the beast with his submersible and stabs it in the eye; its blood attracts a shiver of modern sharks that devour the dying meg.

As Jonas reunites with the rest of the crew, a passing meg is heard, suggesting that more than two escaped the trench.

Released by Gravity Pictures in China and Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States, the film was initially scheduled to be released on March 2, 2018.^[19] Warner and Gravity then said that the film would be released during the 2018 Chinese New Year period in China, a week-long annual holiday on February 16, 2018. The film was later pushed back from its original release date of March 2, 2018, to August 10, 2018.^[20] The studio spent $140 million on global prints and advertisements for the film.^[21]

In April 2018, Jason Statham said a Meg sequel would happen if the film did well with the public saying, "I think it's like anything in this day and age—if it makes money, there's an appetite to make more money. And if it doesn't do well, they'll soon sweep it under the carpet. But that's the way Hollywood works."^[40] That August, Steve Alten said, "My feeling has always been that this is a billion-dollar franchise if it was done right. But to be done right, you had to get the shark right, get the cast right, get the tone right. And Warner Bros. has nailed it completely. The producers have nailed it."^[41]

In October 2018, executive producer Catherine Xujun Ying said a sequel was in the early stages of development.^[42] In March 2019, a script for the film was in the works.^[43] In his September 2020 newsletter, Steve Alten confirmed the script, titled Meg 2: The Trench, was complete, and expressed interest in its "dark" tone.^[44] British director Ben Wheatley signed on to direct.^[45] In April 2021, Statham said that he believed that filming would begin in January 2022.^[46] Production officially began at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden in February 2022, with screenwriters Dean Georgaris, Erich Hoeber, and Jon Hoeber returning, and Statham and Li reprising their roles from the first film.^[47] In March 2022, it was announced that the film would be released on August 4, 2023.^[48]

• Jaws
• Deep Blue Sea
• Mega Shark
• List of natural horror films
• List of underwater science fiction works