After years spent in development, the adaptation of Steve Alten's giant prehistoric shark novel Meg is finally shooting. And the first picture from the set has been posted, featuring no giant shark, but Jason Statham and co-star Li Bingbing.
You might be slightly disappointed to learn that there is no massive toothy beast on display, nor is The Stath in a shark costume. We'll have to wait for that – the shark, we mean, not JS in a rubber-finned costume. Though if he wants to compete with the likes of The Rock and Vin Diesel in the social media stakes, he might consider it.
With Jon Turteltaub in the director's chair, Meg will find an international underwater observation platform spearheaded by Chinese scientists probing the depths of the ocean. When it comes under attack from an unknown creature (which turns out to be a prehistoric shark-related beast known as a Carcharodon Megalodon), the research station's submersible is left disabled and trapped at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Chief oceanographer Dr. Zhang Suyin (Li) recruits former Navy captain and expert diver Jonas Taylor (Statham) for a risky rescue mission. Jonas has his own history with the creature, after being forced to abort his mission and abandon half of his crew years ago after an attack. Now he'll have to confront his history and his fears as he takes on the giant beastie again...
Meg is taking aim at a UK and US release date of 2 March, 2018 and we'd expect to see more images from the movie as it continues shooting.