Meg 2: The Trench (2023)

Meg 2: The Trench (titled Shark 2 in some territories) is a 2023 science fiction action film directed by Ben Wheatley from a screenplay by Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, and Dean Georgaris. It is based on the 1999 novel The Trench by Steve Alten. Serving as the sequel to The Meg (2018), the film stars Jason Statham, Wu Jing, Sophia Cai, Page Kennedy, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Skyler Samuels and Cliff Curtis. Like the previous film, it follows a group of scientists who must outrun and outswim the titular Megalodons when a malevolent mining operation threatens their mission and forces them into a high-stakes battle for survival.

Plans for the sequel were announced to be in early development in October 2018 after the box office success of the first film. Wheatley replaced Jon Turteltaub as director, with the script being written by returning writers Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber. Filming began in various locations in Asia and the London-based Leavesden Studios in February 2022, with many of the cast joining the same month until May 2022.

Meg 2: The Trench had its world premiere at the Shanghai International Film Festival on June 9, 2023, and was released in the United States on August 4, 2023, by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed over $265 million worldwide.

​Plot
Five years after the events of the first film, Jonas Taylor has been involved in fighting environmental crimes while also helping Mana One in exploring a further deep part of the Mariana Trench where the Megalodon has been found. Following the death of Suyin Zhang, Taylor has been raising her teenaged daughter Meiying alongside her uncle and Suyin's brother Jiuming Zhang, who has acquired his father's company alongside wealthy financier Hillary Driscoll. Mana One has also been studying a female Meg called Haiqi, who was discovered as a pup and trained by Jiuming in a reserve in Hainan. Recently Haiqi has been acting erratically, leading to Taylor being concerned despite Jiuming's enthusiasm.

Taylor and Jiuming lead a routine submersible exploration to the Trench, with Meiying stowing away to see the trench for the first time. Fellow Meg survivors DJ and Mac observe the group from the Mana One. On their way down, the subs are pursued by Haiqi, who escaped captivity the previous night; the subs dive down through the thermocline to escape, but Haiqi forces her way through it anyway. 

​Two much larger Megs, a massive alpha male and a slightly smaller beta male, appear and mate with Haiqi. While working on an escape plan, Taylor and his team discover an illegal mining operation in a station captained by a mercenary Montes, who has a vendetta against Taylor for his imprisonment some time before. Montes' crew was hired by Driscoll to covertly use the Mana One's access to the trench to farm rare earth minerals that could earn them billions. Montes kills his crew in an explosion to cover up their activities, which causes a rupture in the trench and grounds both Taylor and Jiuming's ships.

​DJ, Mac, and fellow Mana One analyst Jess discover that the rescue pod has been sabotaged, forcing the crew to use exosuits to walk towards the station in the creature-filled trench, with only Taylor, Meiying, Jiuming and security officer Rigas surviving the journey. Jess and Driscoll reveal themselves to be traitors and attempt to kill the four, but the four escape the station in another submersible after a scuffle with Montes, who escapes to the surface through a buoy. Driscoll sends mercenaries to take over the Mana One while Montes surfaces and meets with Jess. As the crew surfaces, they discover the rupture from earlier which leads to several of the creatures, including the three Megs, a swarm of lizard-like creatures known as Snappers and a giant octopus escaping the trench and reaching the surface.

Taylor's crew meets with DJ and Mac and Montes focuses the mercenaries on the crew after Jess is devoured by a Meg. Taylor's team escapes to a nearby resort, Fun Island, to warn them of the approaching creatures. Driscoll, Montes and the mercenaries arrive at Fun Island to eliminate Taylor's crew, but they are instead attacked by the Snappers, who kill Driscoll and several mercenaries. Taylor's group splits up to evacuate the tourists as the Megs and the octopus begin their attack. Taylor manages to kill the beta male Meg using a harpoon taped to an explosive before being attacked by Montes, leading both to sail to the beach. The two battle before Taylor knocks Montes into another Meg to be consumed. Jiuming creates a bomb out of fertilizer and along with Mac takes over Driscoll's unattended helicopter to fly towards the beach where Meiying is trying to help tourists.

The octopus takes down the helicopter and Jiuming injures it with his bomb, attracting Haiqi who proceeds to fight and kill the beast. As Jiuming swims towards the wreckage to save Mac, Taylor picks up one of the helicopter's rotors and uses it to fatally impale the alpha Meg through the head. Haiqi heads towards Taylor, Jiuming, and Mac, but Jiuming uses his training signals to divert her attention. Haiqi redirects her attention to a pod of dolphins swimming away. Making their way to the beach, Jiuming reasons that Haiqi escaped captivity because it was mating season, and discusses the possibility she is pregnant. Taylor decides that it is better not to think about it, and the group celebrate their survival.

​Cast

• Jason Statham as Jonas Taylor, a veteran diver who specializes in deep sea search and rescue, and Meiying's step-father and the husband of the late Suyin Zhang
• Wu Jing as Jiuming Zhang, Meiying's uncle who took his deceased sister Suyin's place in Mana One.
• Shuya Sophia Cai as Meiying Zhang, Jiuming's niece and Jonas' step-daughter.
• Page Kennedy as DJ, an engineer at Mana One.
• Sergio Peris-Mencheta as Montes, a mercenary in charge of illegal mining operations, and Jess' partner
• Skyler Samuels as Jess, a Mana One worker who is actually part of Montes's mercenary group and a high ranking executive for Driscoli
• Cliff Curtis as James "Mac" Mackreides, Mana One operations manager.
• Sienna Guillory as Hillary Driscoll, a billionaire investor who is financing Jiuming's efforts in the Mana One but secretly hiring Montes for a deep sea mining operation.
• Melissanthi Mahut as Rigas, a security officer at Mana One.
• Whoopie Van Raam as Curtis, a diver at Mana One
• Kiran Sonia Sawar as Sal, a diver at Mana One
• Felix Mayr as Lance, a diver at Mana One

Production
Crew

• ​Directed by Ben Wheatley
• Screenplay by Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, Dean Georgaris
• Story by Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber
• Based on The Trench by Steve Alten
• Produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Belle Avery

​Development
In April 2018, Jason Statham said a sequel to The Meg (2018) 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 obviously 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." In August 2018, 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. have nailed it completely. The producers have nailed it." In October 2018, executive producer Catherine Xujun Ying announced a sequel was in the early stages of development.

Pre-production
In March 2019, it was announced that a script for the film was in the works, with screenwriters Dean Georgaris, and Jon and Erich Hoeber returning. In his September 2020 newsletter, Alten confirmed the script, titled Meg 2: The Trench, to be complete, and expressed interest in its "dark" tone. In October 2020, Ben Wheatley was announced to direct.

Filming
In April 2021, Statham said filming was set to begin in January 2022. Filming commenced as planned at the end of January at the Warner-owned Leavesden Studios outside London, with principal photography starting on February 4, 2022. It continued there until May before switching to outdoor locations, presumably in Asia. While the production was ongoing, Sienna Guillory, Skyler Samuels, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, and Wu Jing were announced as part of the cast.

Post-production
DNEG, Scanline VFX and Milk VFX provided the visual effects for the sequel (with DNEG also handling the 3D conversion). Pete Bebb and Gavin Round served as production visual effects supervisor and production visual effects producer respectively.

Music
Harry Gregson-Williams composed the sequel, returning from the first film. WaterTower Music released a score album on July 28, in addition to the Bankay Ojo's remix version of Page Kennedy's song "Chomp."

Release
Meg 2: The Trench was released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on August 4, 2023. The film had its world premiere at the Shanghai International Film Festival on June 9, 2023.

Reception
Box office
As of October 5, 2023, Meg 2: The Trench has grossed $82.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $312.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $395 million.

In the United States and Canada, Meg 2: The Trench was projected to gross $20–30 million from 3,503 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $12 million on its first day, including $3.2 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $30 million, finishing second behind holdover Barbie. The film made $12.8 million and $6.7 million in its second and third weekends, finishing in fourth and sixth, respectively.

Future
In July 2023, Wheatley stated there had been internal discussions about a potential third movie. The filmmaker stated that while its development depends on the success of Meg 2: The Trench, he hopes to continue the story as outlined in the novels by Steve Alten.