Beast of War: Wyrmwood director Kiah Roache-Turner takes on World War II shark thriller

Wyrmwood Road of the Dead and Wyrmwood: Apocalypse director Kiah Roache-Turner started the year by wrapping production on the spider-themed horror film Sting, and now Deadline reports that he’s moving on to a different “nature run amok” story, a World War II-set shark thriller called Beast of War.

Roache-Turner is reuniting with Cornerstone, the company that’s handling worldwide sales and distribution for Sting, on this new project. Cornerstone will be presenting Beast of War to potential buyers at the upcoming American Film Market.

The script has the following synopsis: 1942. A warship carries hundreds of Australian soldiers across the Timor Sea to the frontline of WW2. Suddenly, Japanese fighter jets scream out of the sky, and within minutes the ocean becomes a hell of steel, fire, oil, and blood. With the vessel destroyed, a handful of soldiers build a makeshift raft from floating debris as they cling to their lives. Tensions run high between the hot-headed and terrified young men, as they band together in an effort to survive. But their biggest battle is yet to come. In the dark below, a great white shark hunts in the wreckage and is drawn to the smell of fresh blood in the water.

The film is being produced by Blake Northfield of Bronte Pictures and Chris Brown of Pictures in Paradise. Production is scheduled to take place in Australia and Malta next year.

Cornerstone’s Alison Thompson and Mark Gooder provided the following statement: “We loved working with Kiah on Sting. He’s a kinetic filmmaker with a deep respect for the genre and we know he will deliver a distinctive and adrenaline-fuelled shark movie.“

Paul Trefry of CreatureNFX, whose previous credits include Alien: Covenant and Unbroken, will be handling the practical creature effects.

If you’re curious what’s going on with Sting, that movie has so far secured Studiocanal distribution in the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Benelux.

After watching the Wyrmwood movies, I’m interested in seeing anything Roache-Turner makes. I’ve been looking forward to Sting, and now I’m looking forward to Beast of War as well.

Are you a fan of Kiah Roache-Turner’s work, and does Beast of War sound interesting to you? Let us know by leaving a comment below.