The idea of a filmmaker like Ben Wheatley directing Jason Statham in a blockbuster sequel about at least one giant prehistoric shark sounds so unusual that it’s become incredibly exciting by default. As such, it was good news to hear the leading man recently confirm that shooting on The Meg 2 is tentatively penciled in to start in January of next year.
As Godzilla vs. Kong has only just shown, audiences are still as keen as ever to see big budget creature features, and Jon Turteltaub’s first installment was a massive success at the box office after earning over $530 million, despite the majority of reviews all agreeing that it never fully maximized the bonkers potential of the premise.
Hopefully that’ll change for the second outing, though, which feels a whole lot more likely with Wheatley on board. After all, his films are known for deliberately subverting expectations and conventions, so when you throw one of cinema’s most popular action heroes and a budget upwards of $150 million into the mix, we could be in for something special.
Statham is the only member of the cast confirmed so far, but in a new interview, Mortal Kombat‘s Jessica McNamee admitted that she’d love to return as Lori Taylor, the estranged wife of protagonist Jonas.
“I don’t even know! I’m not across it. I should be. I’m a terrible person. I mean, that would be the dream. I would love to be involved. I had such a blast filming that movie. Jason’s great and the whole process was so fun. We got to shoot in New Zealand. I also heard they’re potentially shooting it in Australia, which would be amazing. It’s the only way I could get back into the damn country at this point!”
McNamee didn’t get a whole lot to do in The Meg and was largely reduced to staring at screens and commenting on the series of setbacks to befall her husband and his ragtag crew of megalodon hunters, but Mortal Kombat proved that she was more than handy when it came to the action sequences, so she might end up getting involved in the set pieces if she ends up coming back for round two.