Shark movies coming in 2023
With The Requin, Shark Bait. The Reef: Stalked and the return of the mighty JAWS in Real D 3D and IMAX in 2022, it was the usual mixed bag of shark movies for us to get our teeth into – some delivered whilst other dived to the depths of disappointment - but what about shark films headed our way in 2023?
Dean Newman, Head of Content at The Daily Jaws, straps into his fishing chair to see what shark films he can hook that will surface in 2023.
And this year, to paraphrase Mayor Vaughn, could be the best year we’ve ever had as we are gonna need a bigger article as there seems to be more shark films circling for our summer dollars than ever before.
Only a handful have confirmed release dates, with others in varying stages of completion from being currently in post-production, production or pre-production.
Which of the below are you most looking forward to?
The Black Demon
Date expected to surface: April 21st, 2023 (US release)
Striking first blood in the water in the shark film stakes for 2023 is The Black Demon – from the director of Rambo: Last Blood, Adrian Grunberg - which is based on the legend of a huge shark that patrols Mexican waters.
It stars Josh Lucas (who isn't unfamiliar to water-based thrills having starred in Wolfgang Peterson's Poseidon, which also starred Jaws alumni Richard Dreyfuss) who must save his family who are in the giant shark’s way on a crumbling oil rig.
The Black Demon’s screenplay is by Boise Esquerra, who knows a thing or two about terror in the water having penned the crocodile horror, Blackwater.
The Little Mermaid
Date expected to surface: Released May 2023
Although this Disney live action remake of their 1989 animated classic The Little Mermaid is not a shark movie, the original did feature a great shark chase sequence ‘Under the Sea’ in the wreck of a boat.
Ariel the mermaid (in this new version played by Halle Bailey) is pursued by a great white shark, which we are hoping will be just as exciting for the live action version.
The film, directed by Rob Marshall, follows other live action retellings of Disney animated classics such as Mulan, The Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella.
The Meg 2: The Trench
Date expected to surface: August 2023
By far the biggest shark film on our list, and we don’t mean that because it is about a megalodon, but because it is the sequel to the third highest grossing shark film of all time, after JAWS (1975) and JAWS 2 (1978).
The original – directed by Jon Turteltaub - was released in 2018 and had been swimming around in development hell since the late 1990s, but some felt it didn’t deliver on the original book, by Steve Alten.
Well, now the shark gets a second bite of the box office cherry as we see the return of Jason Statham as Jonas Taylor.
There is no Bingbing Li this time around, but perhaps the most interesting aspect of this sequel is its choice of director, the English Ben Wheatley, who is very much a fan of JAWS.
Baby Shark’s Big Movie
Date expected to surface: December 2023
For many, with children of a certain age, this could well be the most terrifying shark movie on this list.
The Nickelodeon Animation and The Pinkfong Company are bringing this tale of Baby Shark and his family – for those not in the know that’s Daddy Shark and Mommy Shark – as they migrate to Chomp City (insert your own they’ve got city fins joke here).
Close to Shore
Date expected to surface: Listed on IMDB as currently in pre-production
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
Date expected to surface: Listed on IMDB as currently in post-production
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.
Fear Below
Date expected to surface: Listed as in production on IMDB
Pitched as Peaky Blinders meets JAWS, this film is set in Australia in the 1940s and sees a rag-tag (what else) team of professional divers hired to locate a sunken car in a river, which turns out to be full of stolen gold bullion.
They’ve been hired by the people who stole the loot, who prove just as dangerous as the bull shark that stands between them and the contents of the car. The film is written, produced and directed by Matthew Holmes.
Deep Fear
Date expected to surface: Listed as in post-production on IMDB
Set in the Caribbean, Deep Fear is described as an intense and visceral survival thriller with furious action throughout that promises a mix of storms, drug traffickers and tiger sharks. Actions speak louder than words, so let’s see if this lives up to the self-propelled hype.
Madalina Gheneait plays Naomi, a round-the-world yachtswoman, who responds to a distress signal to aid a sinking boat, where she finds three survivors. Turns out they drug traffickers who force Naomi to dive into the sunken wreck to find their cocaine, and now she is trapped between the tiger sharks attracted by the dead crew and the drug runners.
Sounds like Dead Calm meets The Shallows by way of The Deep. Clearly 2023 seems to be the year of the shark heist movie.
Amityville Shark House
Date expected to surface: Listed as in post-production
In a world where Amityville Bigfoot and Amityville Karen exist, one shouldn’t be too surprised to see sharks enter the fray, but this series of – increasingly unrelated – films jumped the shark a long time ago. Naturally, the poster depicts a shark smashing out of the Amityville house.
And this isn’t the first-time sharks and Amityville have mixed onscreen as we had Amityville Island back in 2020, which at least had the wonderful hybrid tagline of For God’s sake get out of the water!
The original The Amityville Horror (1979) did feature Mayor Vaughn himself, Murray Hamilton, and there are those who think they have spotted the Amityville house in Amity in JAWS (1975), but with the house-shocker filmed nowhere near Martha’s Vineyard that isn’t the case.
Bathtub Shark Attack
Date expected to surface: Listed by IMDB as in production
From a shark in a house, to one in a bathtub, which to be fair was a common fear for many post watching JAWS when young. Billed as an action horror comedy, Cindy and Chad are a young couple rent an apartment, but something with teeth lurks in the pipes connected to the bathtub.
Directed by Madeline Deering, who directed Spirit Animal and also co-hosted a podcast called Shitty Shark Show.
Apex Predators 2: The Spawning
Date expected to surface: Listed by IMDB as in production
Likely to be the greatest film you’ll ever see about mutant flying sharks attacking a volleyball tournament, from Dustin Ferguson the director of Apex Predators (2021) and Space Sharks (2022). On the plus side it does headline Vernon Wells, from Mad Max 2, Commando and Innerspace – which starred Dennis Quaid from JAWS 3D (1983).
No Way Up
Date expected to surface: Listed on IMDB as being in post-production
From the director Hollow Man 2 (2006) comes this underwater peril that stars Colm Meaney, Chief Miles O’Brien from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, and the grandson of John Hammond himself from Jurassic Park (1993), Richard Attenborough’s grandson Will Attenborough.
In a plot that sounds somewhat familiar to Airport ’77, a plane crashes in the ocean and comes to rest on the edge of a ravine, its survivors trapped in the ticking clock of an air pocket. Although they have enough to fear the inside, it is what wants to get to them from the outside that they really need to worry about.
Sharks N Da Hood
Date expected to surface: Listed on IMDB as being in post-production
A monsoon floods the streets of Compton, the water bringing with it a horde of hungry sharks. From the director of Apex Predators 2: The Spawning, Dustin Ferguson.
Invisible Shark
Date expected to surface: Listed on IMDB as being in post-production
Well, we didn’t see this one coming, and most likely neither will the shark attack victims. From director Cody Clarke, all that is listed about this forthcoming shark film is that it follows a young woman after she has an unbelievable encounter with an invisible shark.
Something in the Water
Date expected to surface: Listed on IMDB as currently being in production
The film follows five female friends celebrating a wedding in a beautiful, remote location.
The day before the wedding, they embark on a boat trip to create some lasting memories, but it ends up being memorable for all the wrong reasons. Clearly, Mama Mia, this ain't. Perhaps an alternative title could have been Four Funerals and a Wedding?
That's pretty much all the story details we currently have, but so far it sounds like it could be a mix of The Shallows meets The Reef.
It's set to be helmed by Gaby Dellal, who also directed 3 Generations, and the script is by Scottish novelist Cat Clarke, based on her own original idea.
Five women, a quintet if you will, on a boat being circled by a shark or sharks, the 'female Jaws' comparisons are sure to come thick and fast.
This film was originally first seen on our forthcoming shark films list in 2021, so here’s hoping we get to see it released this year.
The Last Breath
Date expected to surface: Listed on IMDB as being in post-production
College friends unite for a scuba diving trip in the Caribbean, where they decide to explore the wreck of a World War 2 battleship. Their reunion trip could also be their final resting place as they find themselves trapped in the steel ship whilst great white sharks surround them.
It’s based on a story by Andrew Prendergast, who also directed Shark Bait (2022), and has a script by Nick Saltrese, who was also on scriptwriting duties on Shark Bait, which we said was the shark film of the year last year.
With a cast of three stranded under the water, played by Jack Parr (Peaky Blinders), Kim Spearman and Arlo Carter, this could be the shark film to give us some JAWS vibes. We also get the great Julian Sands.
Shark Trap
Date expected to surface: Currently in post-production
Casper Van Dien headlines this shark thriller that sounds more like a retelling of Piranha with a shark, which the makers are describing as JAWS meets White Lotus and was shot on location in Los Angeles and New Mexico.
The director of Alien Shark (2022) Paul Tomborello brings us JAWS in a waterpark, just as the park opens for the first day of the summer season meaning it is open season for the hungry great white.
Van Dien is no stranger to shark films, having been the main star – alongside Ernie Hudson from Ghostbusters - in Shark Attack (1999).
Words by Dean Newman
If you would like to write for The Daily Jaws, please visit our ‘work with us’ page
For all the latest Jaws, shark and shark movie news, follow The Daily Jaws on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.