Shark Movies Coming In 2021
Shark Movies 2021: the shape of fins to come
It's difficult to know when cinemas will be back open, or indeed when films will see release. Just look at the latest James Bond film, No Time To Die or Top Gun 2.
New films are still getting released though, whether that be a mix of theatrical release and HBOMax with Wonder Woman 1984 or premium rentals, with the likes of Mulan.
Several shark related films were announced as either being released in 2021, or were set to be going before the cameras; which is great news for shark film fans.
How Covid will impact the release or completion dates of the following is yet to be known, but here is a rundown of the shark films lurking just beneath the surface.
Alphas
Date set to surface: unknown
Avatar star, Sam Worthington, is playing the human lead in shark-versus-killer whale thriller ‘Alphas.’
The premise, about a pod of Killer Whales being released back into the wild to stop the local Great White Shark problem, isn't quite as mad as it sounds. Killer Whales are a natural predator of the Great White, hence the name of Quint's boat in Jaws being Orca. Also, dead Great Whites have washed up in South Africa with their livers missing; ripped out by Orcas. So, in the film, it is the ultimate face off between apex predators.
Director Steven Quale is no stranger to filming on the water, he started out as second unit director on Titanic and Avatar and co-directed Aliens Of The Deep with James Cameron.
Effects house BUF (Bladerunner 2049) and Important Looking Pirates (The Shallows) will handle the creature effects, and world-renowned Pete Zuccarini (Avatar and Pirates Of The Caribbean franchises) shoot the underwater sequences. Here's hoping we get some practical effects as well.
Something In The Water
Date set to surface: unknown
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.
Something In The Water star Noel Clarke
Great White
Date set to surface: unknown
Taking its cue from real events, this survival thriller follows a seaplane pilot and his girlfriend who stop to help an upturned boat whilst they are chartering a wealthy couple. They get far more than they bargained for when the plane is destroyed and they have to survive the elements - and a Great White Shark - in the suitably named Hell's Reef. All that separates them is a life raft, will they make the 100 mile journey to safety before they run out of supplies...or will they run out of luck with the shark?
The Reef 2
Date set to surface: unknown
This sequel to the 2010 shark thriller is once again being helmed and written by the director and writer of the original, Andrew Traucki.
This time round, we follow Nic, her sister Annie and two close friends as they travel to a remote Pacific island for a kayaking and diving adventure.
She's trying to get away from it all after seeing her sister get murdered - one suspects this will end up being something of a bus man's holiday in that respect.
Just a few hours into their get away from it all trip, it turns out the women are being stalked and then attacked by a massive Great White Shark. To survive they must work together, and Nic will have to overcome her post-traumatic stress and face her fears. But can she beat the shark?
The Meg 2
Date set to surface: filming expected to begin 2021, for a release in 2023
We know that British director Ben Wheatley is calling the shark shots on this sequel to The Meg, based on the books by Steve Alten.
In a previous interview we did with Alten in 2019 he hoped that it would follow the novel, The Trench.
At the time, he said: "The second movie must be The TRENCH. While a captured Meg pup (Angel) attempts to escape her pen, a new team explores the Mariana Trench and another ancient species is discovered..."
We'll have more news on all of these shark features when we get it, which are you most excited about?
Words by Dean Newman
If you would like to write for The Daily Jaws, please visit our ‘work with us’ page