Warner Bros.' The Meg franchise already graced the big screen on two separate occasions, and many fans are now wondering if The Meg 3 will follow.
After the original The Meg came out in 2018 and earned an impressive $529 million at the worldwide box office, it was a no-brainer to bring back Jason Statham to lead the cast for a sequel.
That sequel, which was titled The Meg 2, was released in 2023 and saw a bit of a drop financially when compared to the first movie, grossing only $397 million on the same budget ($130 million) that the original was given.
The Meg only focused on the ever-terrifying Megalodon, but The Meg 2 raised the stakes by not only including multiple Megs but also a giant octopus and even some prehistoric creatures.
When Could The Meg 3 Release?
Seeing as how there was a five-year gap between the first two Meg movies, The Meg 3 is likely pretty far off.
It is important to note that Warner Bros. hasn't greenlit a third film in the series as of writing, so there is no guarantee of another installment.
However, The Meg 2 director Ben Wheatly stated in an interview with Total Film that occurred before the release of the film that he "hope[s]" he will get the opportunity to make a third film:
"You don’t want to talk about it until Meg 2 is out, but I hope so. There’s a lot more to explore in that world. It’s very rich. The international-ness of it is very interesting."
The director also talked about what makes the movies so special, stating that they're just about "people working together" who "come from places all over the world:"
"What’s so smart about the first film is that it’s not Rush Hour. It’s not East-meets-West, ’Oh, we’re all confused about each other.' It’s just people working together, and being in an everyday adventure, and the people just happen to come from places all over the world. I think that’s good for audiences, and it’s a good message as well."
While it seems that Wheatley would love nothing more than to make The Meg 3, as previously mentioned, The Meg 2 earned substantially less money at the worldwide box office than the original movie.
That fact could make it more difficult for Warner Bros. to greenlight a third film, as the company could see it as not worth the time, money, and resources.
Assuming that The Meg 3 does get announced, however, fans could probably expect there not to be as long of a gap between The Meg 2 and The Meg 3 as there was between the first two movies.
The Meg and The Meg 2 were released five years apart, but The Meg 3 would likely be released as early as 2026 if it were to be greenlit and go into production sometime in late-2024/early-2025.
The Meg 2 began filming in January 2022 and was then released in August 2023 (19 months apart), so assuming The Meg 3 began filming in January 2025, it would likely come out around August 2026 (only three years after The Meg 2 as opposed to five years).
The Meg 3's Potential Cast
The first two Meg movies featured two different casts, but some actors, such as Jason Statham and Shuya Sophia Cai, have reprised their roles across both titles.
That means The Meg 3's cast would likely include a lot of new actors and characters but will also feature some of the same faces featured in the first two movies.
If The Meg 3 is released, fans can, of course, expect Statham to return as lead protagonist Jonas Taylor.
Sophia Cai's Meiying Zhang and Page Kennedy's DJ were two others who survived the events of The Meg 2, and seeing as how they were both prominent in the first two Meg movies, they would likely be brought back for The Meg 3.
Cliff Curtis is yet another actor to have appeared in both titles and will likely return if another movie is greenlit.
Actor Jing Wu (who portrayed Jiuming Zhang) did not appear in The Meg but was cast in The Meg 2. If The Meg 3 is confirmed, fans can also expect to see him return for the action.
What Could Happen in The Meg 3?
Even though The Meg 3 hasn't been confirmed, The Meg 2 still set up what could happen in the threequel.
In the final scene, The Meg 2 revealed that Meg Haiqi was pregnant. This means that she will likely give birth to multiple new Megs, and since there were three total Megs in The Meg 2, The Meg 3 will likely feature at least 4, if not more, Megs.
The Meg 2 also included other monstrous sea creatures aside from Megalodons.
A giant octopus played a big role in the movie as well as some other reptilian creatures. Even though they all died, fans can expect to see other types of creatures for Jonas to go up against in The Meg 3.
Fans can also look to the source material (Steve Walten's series of The Meg novels) to try and figure out what will happen in the upcoming installment.
In the third book in his series, which is what The Meg 3 would be based on, readers were transported to 18 years after the events of the second book.
A similar time jump would likely happen in the third film to give Haiqi's baby Megs time to grow up and become extreme threats.
It is also revealed in the third book that Jonas' rival, Michael Maren, owned his own pet Meg, which he set loose on Jonas and his family.
This wild plotline could make its way into The Meg 3 since the baby Megs were teased at the end of the second movie.
While many film series end with three movies, the third book did set up yet another novel by teasing a Liopleurdon, which is yet another massive sea creature that was thought to have gone extinct in prehistoric times.
While it is possible that there could be a Meg 4, it is even more likely that the Liopleurdon will appear in The Meg 3 to up the stakes and the action from The Meg 2 even more.
The Meg and The Meg 2 are streaming now on Netflix.
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