Jason Statham rocks a turtleneck in first photo from Jon Turteltaub’s Meg

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

I don't know about you, but the very first thing I do when I'm getting ready to hunt a 75-foot-long prehistoric Megalodon is toss on my most stylish turtleneck; perhaps I don't rock it quite as effectively as Jason Statham here, but it does make me feel like a shark hunting bad-ass. That's a lie, it's itchy and I hate it. A big-screen adaptation of Steve Alten’s "Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror" has been in and out of development for close to two decades, but it's finally happening as production on the Jon Turteltaub film kicked off yesterday in New Zealand. A first look image was released by Warner Bros. to commemorate the occasion which shows off Li Bingbing as well as Jason Statham looking like, well, Jason Statham.

I've never gotten around to reading Alten's novel, but I'm always down for a shark-based thriller, particularly when it's a giant shark, so count me in. In addition to Jason Statham and Li Bingbing, MEG also stars Cliff Curtis, Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Masi Oka, Jessica McNamee, Winston Chao, Page Kennedy, Ólafur Darris Ólafsson and Sophia Shuya Cai. Production will continue in New Zealand before moving on to various locations in China.

The official synopsis for MEG:

A deep-sea submersible—part of an international undersea observation program—has been attacked by a massive creature, previously thought to be extinct, and now lies disabled at the bottom of the deepest trench in the Pacific…with its crew trapped inside. With time running out, expert deep sea rescue diver Jonas Taylor (Statham) is recruited by a visionary Chinese oceanographer (Winston Chao), against the wishes of his daughter Suyin (Li Bingbing), to save the crew—and the ocean itself—from this unstoppable threat: a pre-historic 75-foot-long shark known as the Megalodon. What no one could have imagined is that, years before, Taylor had encountered this same terrifying creature. Now, teamed with Suyin, he must confront his fears and risk his own life to save everyone trapped below…bringing him face to face once more with the greatest and largest predator of all time.

MEG is set to hit theaters on March 2, 2018, but those of you who reside in China will get to see the film first as Variety reports that MEG will debut during the Chinese New Year period on February 18, 2018.

Any other DEEP BLUE SEA fans out there? They may not be giant sharks, but I've never stopped loving this trashy shark flick.