MOVIE NEWS – Indeed, The Meg 2 is in the very early stages of development at the moment, according to producer Catherine Xujun Ying. Jason Statham told the press, that a sequel to The Meg was an option back in April of this year, but he also added, that it would come down to how well the film would perform at the box office. Out in August, The Meg was actually a surprise hit of the summer, earning over $100 million globally in its debut weekend and ended up taking in $527.7 million in its theatrical run.

Because The Meg 2 was already mentioned before the first installment even hit theaters, it came as no surprise that the sequel is starting to move forward. When asked about a possible sequel to The Meg, producer Catherine Xujun Ying said, “That is definitely the plan.” The producer also told the press that “It’s still in the very early stages, but we’re working on it.” Concerning what the next movie will be about, Yung couldn’t reveal any specifics and only added, “We’re trying to keep it secret at this time.” With that being said, a giant prehistoric shark, or two, will more than likely be involved.

The Meg is based off of Steve Alten’s 1997 novel Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror, and there are seven other books in the series. There’s a lot of source material to make The Meg 2, and even more to keep a franchise going, which again, will come down to how well each one does at the box office. Currently, it’s safe to say that The Meg 2 will certainly be welcomed by Steve Alten fans as well as people who enjoyed the first film.

Jason Statham‘s performance in The Meg is one of the brighter spots of a storyline that left more than a few moviegoers wanting more. With that being said, the movie is all about big screen pop corn fun. The late summer release date also worked out very well for the giant prehistoric shark movie, and now that the Sharknado series is finished (for now), there will certainly be some room for The Meg 2 to come out around the time of Shark Week in an upcoming summer.

Since The Meg 2 is in the very early stages of development, there’s no telling when the sequel will swim into theaters. But, it’s going to have to live in the shadows of its predecessor when the time comes. The first film took a huge bite out of the global box office and a sequel will be expected to do the same, which is not going to be an easy task. One way that could get more people in the seats is to up the ante on the blood and gore aspect, since it was toned down for the original movie to keep the PG-13 rating. Giant sharks and blood could be the recipe for success in making The Meg 2. The news of the sequel was first reported by Deadline.