Ben Wheatley to direct 'The Meg 2' with Jason Statham returning

Jason Statham in The Meg. (Image credit: Warner Brothers)

Ben Wheatley heard all the mean things fans said about his Rebecca remake, cried into his stacks of cash, and then went and signed a big ol' deal with Warner Brothers to take on The Meg 2 with Jason Statham and much of the key cast returning.

The first film followed Statham and company as a team of marine experts found themselves running afoul of a very, very big shark. The prehistoric megalodon chomped its way to big-budget success, but was met by mockery by some viewers for being too absurd. (Watch for yourself, but The Meg is an absolute delight.)

Catherine Ying, Li Ruigang, E Bennett Walsh, Gerald Molen and Randy Greenberg will all be executive producing the project, with Jon and Erich Hoeber working off of a draft by Dean Georgaris for the script. You'll recognize all three of those names from the original film as well. Jason Statham is reported to be involved with the film in a creative capacity in addition to returning to his role.

The Hollywood Reporter broke this story earlier today.

The Meg synopsis:
Previously thought to be extinct, a massive creature attacks a deep-sea submersible, leaving it disabled and trapping the crew at the bottom of the Pacific. With time running out, a visionary oceanographer recruits rescue diver Jonas Taylor to save the crew and the sea itself from an unimaginable threat - a 75-foot-long prehistoric shark known as the Megalodon.