Ben Wheatley Wants to Expand the Franchise With ‘Meg 3’

While Ben Wheatley‘s latest project has yet to hit theaters, the Meg 2: The Trench director already has his sights set on what’s to come, expressing interest in helming a follow-up to the killer shark flick. The upcoming film is the sequel to 2018’s The Meg; directed by Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure), the creature feature proved successful at the box office despite a largely negative critical reception, laying the foundations for what Wheatley is hoping could become a full-blown franchise.

Speaking to Total Film magazine, the director is cautiously optimistic about the series’ future, saying “You don’t want to talk about it until Meg 2 is out, but I hope [to see a third installment]. There’s a lot more to explore in that world. It’s very rich. The international-ness of it is very interesting.” On what he thinks the key to the first film’s success was, and what he believes could prove foundational to the franchise’s future, Wheatley said “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,'” adding that “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.”

The upcoming film will see Jason Statham, who returns after starring in the 2018 original, join forces with legendary action star Wu Jing (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor), as the pair lead a research team on an exploration into the ocean’s depths. The team find more than they had bargained for however, as a synopsis for the film reveals:

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.

Joining Statham in returning for the upcoming sequel are Li Bingbing (Transformers: Age of Extinction), Page Kennedy (Rush Hour), Shuya Sophia Cai (Mr. Corman), and Cliff Curtis (Sunshine). Newcomers in the cast alongside Jing include Sergio Peris-Mencheta (Rambo: Last Blood), Sienna Guillory (Resident Evil), and Skyler Samuels (American Horror Story). Using Steve Alten‘s 1999 novel The Trench as its source of inspiration, the film’s screenplay was written by Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, and Dean Georgaris, all of whom worked previously on The Meg.

Meg 2: The Trench hits theaters on August 4 with a rating of PG-13 thanks to “action/violence, some bloody images, language, and brief suggestive material.” Check out the trailer for the upcoming sequel below: