The Meg 2: The Trench Footage Reaction: Yes, A Shark Eats A T-Rex [CinemaCon 2023]

Remember when Warner Bros. promised us a horror-centric spin-off to "Aquaman" centered on the monsters of The Trench? Those were some good days, weren't they? Though sadly that project was canned and the future of Aquaman himself is in question — but not "Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom," don't worry — there is still hope for some big-budget aquatic horror, because the mighty Megalodon shark is back with "The Meg 2: The Trench," baby!

That's right, Jason Statham, Cliff Curtis, Shuya Sophia Cai, Page Kennedy and the massive, humongous shark that gives the film its title are back for the second of hopefully many sequels — Steve Alten, who wrote the "Meg" book the film is based on, is still writing sequels to this day, the second of which is called, you guessed it, "The Trench." We sadly don't know much about the sequel, but we can grab a few hints from Alten's book, which continues the adventure of paleobiologist Jonas Taylor. In "The Trench," Taylor discovers yet another prehistoric monster, named the Kronosaurus.

It may surprise you to know that "The Meg 2: The Trench" is not in development or even just filming, but it is set to be released this very summer. Thankfully, it appears we are finally starting prehistoric shark week, because the very first footage from the upcoming Ben Wheatley-directed film just debuted at CinemaCon. Not only that, but /Film's very own Ben Pearson was on the ground to experience every single glorious second of the new aquatic horror film preview.

In addition to Statham and the shark (and presumably the Kronosaurus), we also have Sergio Peris-Mencheta ("Resident Evil: Afterlife"), Sienna Guillory ("Resident Evil: Apocalypse"), and Skyler Samuels ("Scream Queens") joining the cast — probably as delicious snacks for the giant prehistoric aquatic creature.

At CinemaCon 2023, Ben Pearson watched the first bit of footage from "The Meg 2: The Trench," and it sounds like exactly what you want out of a sequel to "The Meg."

Much like the prologue for "Jurassic World Dominion," the footage for the sequel takes us to the ancient past with text that reads, "For 54 million years, one species ruled the world." A dragonfly gets eaten by a lizard, which then gets eaten by a gila monster. The circle of life continues, as a T-rex storms onto the beach and eats the gila monster. But then a giant f***ing shark bursts out of the water and eats the T-rex. That's one heck of a way to kick things off, and it's actually how the original novel on which "The Meg" is based opens.

We then get a bit of context for the movie's subtitle, as the trench is an ancient ecosystem that has been untouched by man. Naturally, our main characters must go down there, with Jason Statham leading the team. We see them all wearing exosuits and walking on the ocean floor. "That's the biggest Meg anybody has ever seen," is said. 

Statham is then seen running on a dock that the shark is tearing away at, and he's barely outrunning it. The giant shark wreaks havoc on a resort community before eating an influencer who is recording a video in front of a pane of glass. Clearly we're going to see a lot of snacks for The Meg.

Finally, Ben described a "rad" shot of Statham riding a jetski with a harpoon, where he crests a giant wave above the shark, poised to shoot the weapon at the shark. And that's it! Ben also added that the movie "looks absolutely ridiculous, and like a total blast," and that it takes things "deadly seriously." 

"The Meg 2: The Trench" arrives in theaters on August 4, 2023.