Jason Statham’s $921 Million Action Franchise Officially Has Worthy Competition Thanks To This Upcoming Sequel

Now that Under Paris is getting a sequel, Jason Statham’s blockbuster The Meg franchise finally has some competition as the twenty-first century’s biggest shark horror series. The Meg’s 2018 success came as something of a surprise in a summer packed with blockbuster hits. The same year that Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, Venom, Deadpool 2, and Aquaman dominated the box office, a killer shark movie with one A-list star that spent almost three decades in development hell earned over $500 million. Similarly, Netflix’s shark horror Under Paris was a surprise sleeper hit when the low-budget French disaster movie was released.

Since Under Paris cost less than $20 million to make and swiftly became one of Netflix’s biggest hits of 2024, it was inevitable that a follow-up would eventually enter production. Under Paris’s twist ending left the door open for an even gorier sequel, much like The Meg’s ending promised more adventures from Jason Statham’s Jonas Taylor in the near future. Sure enough, Jonas returned in 2023’s Meg 2: The Trench. Like The Meg, this sequel was based on a novel by bestseller Steve Alten. There are another five books in Alten’s The Meg series that could be made into movies.

Under Paris Getting A Sequel Means The Meg Now Has A Rival Shark Franchise

The Meg’s First Two Installments Were Big Box Office Hits

However, the news that Under Paris 2 is happening means The Meg franchise now finally has a worthy rival in the world of killer shark movies. The Meg received mixed reviews, but, with a budget of under $180 million and a global gross of over $525 million, it was a major success. Meg 2: The Trench cost less, with a budget of around $130 million according to Deadline. The sequel made an impressive $397 million upon its August 2023 release, but it was met with markedly worse reviews than its predecessor.

In contrast, Under Paris started out in a stronger position with reviewers. The Netflix hit earned 63% on Rotten Tomatoes, outdoing The Meg’s 47% and Meg 2: The Trench’s 27%. That said, The Meg franchise does boast a lot more star power than its streaming series competition. There are no major names in Under Paris’s cast list, and Under Paris’s many brutal kills mean that the sequel will star all new characters anyway. In contrast, The Meg co-starred Li Bingbing and Rain Wilson, while Meg 2: The Trench featured Wolf Warrior’s Wu Jing and Skyler Samuels.

How Under Paris Is Different From Jason Statham’s The Meg

Under Paris Has A Darker Gorier Story Than The Meg

While Netflix’s French disaster horror might not feature many recognizable faces, Under Paris is a lot nastier and gorier than The Meg movies. Director Xavier Gens made a name for himself with the New French Extremity horror Frontier(s) and his unflinching approach to onscreen gore is undeniably present in Under Paris, which takes full advantage of Netflix’s creative freedom with its brutal death scenes. Unlike The Meg franchise or Steven Spielberg’s classic Jaws and its sequels, Under Paris isn’t suitable for younger viewers, and this does mean the franchise may never enjoy The Meg’s tentpole blockbuster success.

The tone of Under Paris is also more self-serious than that of The Meg and its sequel, although both franchises keep their tongue firmly in cheek. Under Paris is seemingly aware of how ludicrous its premise is, but the movie features few moments of broad humor and mostly treats the threat of “Sharks lurking in the Seine and the Parisian catacombs” seriously. The Meg movies, in contrast, are almost comically self-aware. With Jason Statham’s action hero jet skiing into the mouth of a prehistoric shark, the movies sometimes feel more like the Fast and Furious series with added sharks than actual horror movies.

Will The Meg 3 Happen? Sequel Status Explained

The Meg 3’s Production Has Not Yet Been Confirmed

Although the announcement of Under Paris 2 proves that there is an appetite for more killer shark horrors, The Meg 3 has not yet been announced. There are numerous reasons for this. Meg 2: The Trench’s abysmal critical reception might hold up its sequel, even though the movie performed admirably at the box office. The Meg 3’s delays could also be chalked up to the availability of Jason Statham, who is instrumental to the franchise’s appeal, and their hefty price tag.

Each of The Meg movies cost over $100 million to produce and any third movie in the series would be expected to outdo its predecessors. In contrast, Under Paris was made for less than $20 million and its grittier, nastier tone means the movie’s sequel could be produced for a similarly small investment. This makes it unsurprising that the comparatively cheap Under Paris sequel is going into production before the next The Meg movie, meaning the series may supplant Jason Statham’s franchise as the biggest new killer shark movies in the public imagination.

Source: Deadline

Director

Jon Turteltaub

Release Date

August 10, 2018

Distributor(s)

Warner Bros. Pictures

Writers

James Vanderbilt

Runtime

113 Minutes

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