New shark movies swimming to screens in 2025
As 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of Steven Spielberg's iconic film JAWS, the year is set to make a splash with a wave of new shark-themed movies heading to streaming, VOD and cinema screens.
Whilst none of the below releases are set to make the same cultural or box office impact of the 1975 great white shark classic, that doesn’t mean filmmakers and film viewers will stop in their search for their next sharksploitation hit.
To quote Chrissie Watkins, "C'mon in the water!"
Into the Deep
In the year that JAWS turns 50, it is perhaps apt that the first shark film out of the gates in 2025, Into the Deep, boasts the return of Richard Dreyfuss to the world of sharks.
It’s his first since not having any spit and getting confused about what day of the week it was when he played Matt Hooper in JAWS.
Directed by Christian Sesma, Into the Deep is scheduled for release on January 24, 2025. As well as Dreyfuss adding that essential nostalgic touch, we also get Stuart Townsend, Scout Taylor-Compton, and Jon Seda.
The story follows a group of divers caught between modern-day pirates and sharks in the deep, mixing high-seas adventure with the lurking dangers beneath the ocean's surface.
Beneath the Storm
Another highly anticipated release is Beneath the Storm, directed by Norwegian filmmaker Tommy Wirkola, known for Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters and Violent Night.
Set to hit theaters on August 1, 2025, the film features Phoebe Dynevor, Whitney Peak, and Djimon Hounsou in leading roles. Produced by Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, the story focuses on a group of individuals battling for survival against relentless shark attacks amidst a catastrophic storm.
Principal photography began in Australia in August 2024, with filming locations including Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula and Docklands Studios, where elaborate sets depicting flooded South Carolina streets were constructed.
Deep Water
Renny Harlin on the set of Deep Blue Sea (1999)
Deep Water is an upcoming disaster horror film directed by Renny Harlin, known for "Die Hard 2" and "Deep Blue Sea." The film stars Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingsley and follows a group of international passengers whose plane makes an emergency landing in shark-infested waters.
As of January 2025, the film is in post-production, with a release date planned for later this year.
Lone Star Shark
Directed by Brett Bentman, Lone Star Shark is another addition to the 2025 shark film lineup. The film stars Olivia Clari Nice, Jessica Packard, Michelle Sherrill, and Tedd Kuchta.
Its plot revolves around a group of virtual hunters who inadvertently unleash a deadly shark in the waters of Texas, leading to a series of harrowing events.
The exact release date is yet to be announced.
Dangerous Animals
Filming for Dangerous Animals, directed by Sean Byrne, took place on the Gold Coast, Australia.
The tense thriller features actors Hassie Harrison, Jai Courtney, Josh Heaton, and Ella Newton. The story revolves around a surfer who becomes the victim of a shark-obsessed serial killer.
While the release date is yet to be announced, the film is anticipated to premiere in 2025.
JAWS (1975)
Perhaps the most-hotly anticipated release for 2025 is ANY re-release of JAWS back on the big screen, whether it is back as a traditional release, back in IMAX, 3D or even with a live orchestra.
Whatever way you get chance to see JAWS on the big screen, those proportions are correct, and experiencing the Spielberg classic on the big screen is a must see.
The Red Triangle
The Red Triangle of the title is a real area in Northern California that covers 200 miles of coastline, stretching south from Bodega Bay toward San Francisco and beyond the Farallon Islands and down to Big Sur south of Monterey.
It is said to be the location of almost half of all recorded shark attacks in the United States, all of which makes it the perfect location and title for a new shark film.
Its director, Johannes Roberts, is no stranger to shark-infested waters having previously directed by 47 Meters Down and 47 Meters Down: Uncaged – two of the best received shark films of recent years.
Unlike JAWS, the people featured in the film do have a bigger boat, in the form of a cruise, but when it begins to sink in The Red Triangle with thousands of passengers on board, the sharks begin to pick them off. Think Titanic via The Poseidon Adventure with sharks, and we can’t wait for the claustrophobia and raising of legs to begin.
One thing is for sure, we’ll never put on a lifejacket again.
Beast of War
This sounds like the nearest we’ll get to another version of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis – as recounted by Quint (Robert Shaw) in JAWS.
This newly announced film isn’t that, but with a TV movie – The Mission of the Shark – and film – USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage – we’ve already seen the true-life story of the USS Indianapolis story brought to the screen, giving us a flavour of what may be to come with Beast Of War.
Directed and written by Kiah Roache-Turner, the film is about two young soldiers, fresh out of boot camp find themselves stranded on a raft in the middle of the ocean after their ship is sunk by the enemy and must battle for their lives against a giant hungry great white shark.
One thing it will share with JAWS is that is a practical shark. So even if the synopsis doesn’t float your boat, then perhaps seeing a practical great white shark looming out of the water will captivate us just like it did back in the summer of 1975?
Alphas
Alphas is perhaps the longest serving and one of the most hotly anticipated shark films on the coming soon (no, it really is, finally) list.
Screen Daily exclusively revealed that Martin Henderson (best known for Virgin River and Grey’s Anatomy but no stranger to horror with X and The Ring) will now star in this long gestating shark-versus-killer whale thriller, which was once set to star Avatar’s Sam Worthington.
Helming the Australian and UK co-production is Liam O’Donnell (Beyond Skyline, Portals).
Screen Daily now described Alphas taking place in a quiet surfing community where killer whales are enlisted to fend off great white sharks after a series of attacks.
When the alpha great white shark proves too powerful to stop, a local surfing legend and a retired orca trainer come together to unleash the most dangerous killer whale they have ever known to stop the shark and save their town.
JAWS may have transferred from page to screen very quickly, but The Meg took over 20 years to swim to the surface, so some shark films can take their time to reach an audience.
The plot still remains intriguing, which is why it is something we all want to see it realised on the big screen, especially with several stories and video emerging of Orcas killing great white sharks, making it almost ripped from the pages of reality.
We don't mind when it comes to the surface, but just that it does find its way to water and our screens.
Close to Shore
Not to be confused with the same-titled book by Michael Capuzzo about the Jersey Shore shark attacks from 1916, this film sounds more like Peter Benchley’s The Deep, as it sees a couple who find some artefacts whilst diving.
Finding the items to be more valuable than they first thought, they head back to the ocean floor, hoping to avoid the sharks and a local kingpin who wants the sunken treasure for himself.
Shallow Descent
It may have a title that sounds like one of those direct to DVD or streaming Steven Seagal films, but Shallow Descent follows the Broady family (we see what they did there) to the Florida Keys for an action-packed weekend but ends up become more action-orientated than they could ever have imagined.
And as the poster shows a pair of legs sticking out of the mouth of a shark, it looks like it doesn’t end well for at least one member of this Broady family.
And although it won't be released in 2025, there's a shark sequel that is set to start filming later this year.
Under Paris 2
Following the success of the 2024 horror film Under Paris, Netflix has confirmed a sequel, with filming set to commence in September 2025.
The original film, which depicted a scientist's efforts to thwart a massive shark in the Seine during the Paris Olympics, became a global hit, spending 15 weeks in Netflix's global top 10 for non-English films. Actress Bérénice Bejo is expected to reprise her role, with director Xavier Gens hinting at a storyline that may depict a completely submerged Paris.
Words by Dean Newman
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