The beast at the heart of 2018’s The Meg may have been vanquished in spectacular fashion, but as we know from the end of Jason Statham’s last aquatic adventure, there was another. Watching from the shadows and waiting for the right time, this creature has sat and waited for its home studio to bring it to life. Fret no further, Meg fans, as the schedule of 2023 new movie releases does indeed include Meg 2: The Trench, and we’ve now got our first trailer for it. Looks like that R-rating might stick this time around, folks, as this trailer doesn't skimp on the blood, bodies and beasties.
Warner Bros. released the first official trailer for the sequel to 2018’s sleeper shark-centric hit, based on the books of author Steve Alten. Keeping with the sequence of the novels, The Trench comes from the second chapter in the series, which picks up four years after previous events. However, the more times change, the more they stay the same, as we see in the return of Statham's fearless Jonas Taylor.
This isn’t the first time this footage has been shown, as this reel is exactly what was shown at Meg 2’s CinemaCon panel. While that wasn’t exactly released to the public upon its debut, CinemaBlend’s own Jessica Rawden was on hand to describe that presentation. She didn't spoil much, and it's easy to see why, as there are some really inventive and potentially gory kills waiting in this next dip in the ocean.
If you were expecting The Meg 2 to be a more sobering affair grounded in reality, then clearly you didn’t see director Jon Turtletaub’s previous entry. One scene has Jason Statham literally keeping one of three Megalodons featured in this outing at bay with merely his boot. Not to mention, it looks like so many other creatures from the deep have come out to play, pitting primal madness against a modern buffet of victims.
But if you were hoping that this next chapter might play closer to the original R-rated version of The Meg, then your prehistoric prayers may have been answered in that devastating Tyrannosaurus Rex attack at the beginning of the trailer. That seems like a lot of red colored blood for a PG-13 flick, unless beast on beast violence doesn’t count towards a more mature classification.
While talking about his duties on Meg 2, director Ben Wheatley felt a “heavy responsibility” that he needed to share, alongside the promise of bonkers action he longed to the returned to. If this is what “heavy responsibility” looks like, then maybe being an adult isn’t so bad, especially when throwing in some fun and inventive kills as seen here. People might just take a minute to look behind themselves before their next livestream from this point out.
Meg 2: The Trench is swimming through the waters of the world somewhere, making its way into its August 4th release date. If you want to catch up with what happened in The Meg, those of you with a Hulu subscription can dig into that madness at your leisure. Sadly, while Meg 2 is going to be coming to theaters in 3D, it's a rarer feat to see the original in that same format. With that in mind, you can read our To 3D or Not To 3D on The Meg, and prepare yourself for this third-dimensional experience.
