A cinematic adaptation of Steve Alten's 1997 shark attack novel MEG has long been languishing in development hell, but back in June we learned that the film rights had been required by Warner Bros., who were making it a priority project. Soon after came the announcement that Eli Roth had signed on to direct the film, with Dean Georgaris working on the screenplay.
Alten's novel tells the story of
a team of scientists that must capture a massive prehistoric shark, long believed to be extinct, that becomes unearthed from the depths of the Mariana Trench. The species in question is that of the Carcharodon Megalodon, an apex predator that reached nearly 80 ft, and went extinct around two million years ago.
Three months have passed since the hiring of Roth, and thankfully it sounds like the project is coming along swimmingly. Talking to Collider, Roth revealed that the script was recently turned in to the studio and he is currently working on character and creature designs.
He also mentioned that the shark will be a CG creation, as you would expect given its size. Luckily, Warner Bros. already has some experience with CG sea creatures: to prove to Roth that the technology is there to bring the shark to the screen in a convincing manner, they showed him footage from their upcoming release IN THE HEART OF THE SEA (pictured above).
Directed by Ron Howard and based on the real life event that inspired Herman Melville to write MOBY DICK, IN THE HEART OF THE SEA finds Chris Hemsworth being menaced by a giant whale. Blown away by how the whale looks in that film, Roth is confident that his CG shark will look good, too.
I've been looking forward to a MEG movie for a very long time, so I have my fingers crossed that this will continue to move forward with no problems. I want to see that big shark on the big screen.
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