More sharks are coming our way in the form of 47 Meters Down getting a sequel. The first movie in the franchise starred Mandy Moore and Claire Holt and was a surprising success. It told the story of two sisters vacationing in Mexico and how they ended up trapped in a shark cage at the bottom of the ocean. The second movie in the franchise was titled 47 Meters Down: Uncaged. That one, if I’m remembering things right, also happened in Mexico. Oh and it also had two sisters at the heart of it. But instead of being in the middle of the ocean trapped in a cage at the bottom, these two sisters sneak into an underwater city and are terrorized by a deadly shark in the submerged caves. Now we have the third movie in the franchise.
47 Meters Down: The Wreck is another family story. But this time around it’s going to follow a father who is determined to rebuild his relationship with his daughter as they bond during a scuba diving trip. And surprise surprise it’s again in beautiful tropical waters. They’re exploring a famous shipwreck. But things soon go awry when the master diver has an accident and they’re left to fend for themselves through a labyrinth of a wreck and the relentless and bloodthirsty great white sharks that are surrounding them. From the description alone, it feels like the third movie in the franchise is going to follow the same ridiculous nature of the second one instead of the emotional connection that we got in the first one. And I’m okay with that.
According to Byron Allen, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Allen Media Group, 47 Meters Down: The Wreck is the perfect continuation of a shark-filled franchise. He released the first two films in the U.S., with the first one taking $62 million in the theaters and the second one making $47 million. It’s being produced by James Harris, Mark Lane, and Johannes Roberts. And on the 15th, they will be shopping the film around at Cannes. It’s also expected to be directed by Patrick Lussier with Roberts and Ernest Riera writing the script. Roberts was the director for the first two movies in this franchise. And Lussier has worked on other edge of your seat kind of projects like The Purge TV series and edited cult classics like Cursed.
Shark movies have continued to interest audiences, for many thanks to the lasting impression that Jaws left on them. But in recent years, or the last decade, we’ve seen an increase of absolutely ridiculous shark movies. A lot of them were on cable networks like the SyFy channel. Those ridiculous shark movies (Ghost Shark, Sharktopus) went under the radar until Sharknado came around and caught the attention of fans. But even then, Sharknado was an outlier for mass theatrical attention. It’s movies like The Meg and No Way Up who have helped define crazy shark movies for what they are today. And hopefully The Wreck could join this ridiculous throne of shark movies by giving us an absolutely dynamic set of a wreck where they can use the environment around them to stop the sharks.
47 Meters Down: The Wreck is eyeing a production time of Fall 2024.
