2018’s The Meg sold itself on the battle between Jason Statham and the titular prehistoric shark, and the movie’s ending delivers on that promise.
In the battle of Jason Statham versus a gigantic prehistoric shark, The Meg’s ending proves there’s only room for ONE apex predator. The Meg opens with rescue diver Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) losing two friends while evacuating a damaged submarine, but nobody believes his story of the sub being attacked by a large creature. Jumping ahead five years, Jonas is recruited on another rescue mission – this one involving his ex-wife – to the Mariana Trench. Beneath the deepest section of the trench a research team uncover previously unseen marine life – and a very hungry megalodon.

Jonas, oceanographer Suyin Zhang (Li Bingbing) and the rest of the Mana One crew chase after The Meg’s megalodon, which in turn kills several of them, including slimy billionaire Jack Morris (Rainn Wilson). The Meg’s finale sees the giant beast chomp through a beach, with the vengeful Jonas in hot pursuit. The summer blockbuster closes with the beast having been slain in creative style and the survivors celebrating together. However, The Meg ends on a note suggesting another giant shark may have escaped the trench; The Meg also avoids any post-credit scenes.
How Jonas Actually Kills The Meg

The Meg is based on the Steve Alten novel series of the same name, but the film adaptation spent many years in development hell. It turns out all the producers had to do was cast Statham and make The Meg something of a versus movie. The opening sequence establishes that Jonas has a personal bone to pick with the titular shark, and The Meg’s ending zeroes in on that.
The Mana One crew uses a whale call to distract the Meg from the all-you-eat buffet at a local beach, with Jonas and Suyin plotting submersible and planning to kill it with missiles. Of course this quickly turns bad, with Jonas’ vehicle being badly damaged by the shark and Suyin forced to break off to save the rest of the crew when a helicopter explodes on their boat deck. Jonas is forced to improvise and decides to use nature to his advantage.

He slices the Meg up with some wreckage from the submersible, before exiting and stabbing it in the eye. Jonas seals the deal by ramming the spear all way into the Meg’s eye, which appears to seal the deal. However, the blood from its injuries attracts a swarm of regular sharks, who feast on the wounded creature as Jonas swims to safety and rejoins the crew.
Exactly How Many People Did The Meg Kill?

The first Meg novel is way, WAY more violent than the movie. The book has no problem with gore and severed limbs, but since The Meg was designed to be a relatively family-friendly PG-13 summer blockbuster, the film adaptation is tame in the bloodshed department. That said, director Jon Turteltaub confessed (via Bloody Disgusting) that the film had gorier deaths in an earlier cut, such as the decapitated head of Jack Morris being all that was left of him when the Meg chomped down during his demise. Despite a lack of bloodshed, The Meg still managed a respectable bodycount.
Including accidents directly caused by the titular beast, the Meg kills 16 people over the course of the story (via Carnage Count). This figure includes Morris, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson’s “The Wall” and Toshi (Masi Oka). During the finale, two helicopters fly recklessly close together to capture footage of the Meg and end up colliding, causing another four demises. Outside of human beings, the Meg also eats a giant squid and a whale.
The Meg’s Big Shark Twist Explained
Seemingly taking a leaf out of the Jaws 3-D playbook, one big twist arrives during The Meg’s midway point revealing that there are not one, but TWO Megs on the loose. This is discovered after the team set a trap for the megalodon, which involves Suyin going underwater in a shark-proof tank with some poison. Having apparently never seen the original Jaws either, this tactic is anything but safe as the Meg bites onto the cage and tries to eat Suyin. She manages to get out with Jonas’ help and jabs it with the poison.
The shark dies soon after, and the Mana One crew recovers its body. The celebrations are short-lived, as any viewers checking their watch will realize there’s another 40 or so minutes to go. As they’re busy examining the body, a second, even larger Meg emerges from the water, killing “The Wall” and feeding on the other Meg’s corpse. This shark is also confirmed to be the one responsible for the death of Jonas’ friends and the other casualties in the story thus far.
Do Jonas And Suyin End Up Together?
Amidst chasing after a man-eating prehistoric shark, The Meg finds time for a romantic subplot too. Jonas and Suyin are initially testy with one another, but they grow to respect each other throughout the story, and an early, comically awkward scene of Suyin walking in on the ripped Jonas after a shower makes it clear there’s a spark there. Jonas also becomes good buddies with Suyin’s young daughter Meiying (Sophia Cai), who more than encourages any romantic tension between him and her mother.
After the second Meg has been defeated, there’s an implication Jonas and Suyin will at least give dating a try. The Meg 2 sees the return of Meiying, but Li Bingbing’s Suyin is curiously absent. There could be any number of explanations for this, ranging from Suyin working at another facility or that she died in-between entries; perhaps Bingbing could also make a surprise cameo. The Meg 2’s trailer makes it look like Jonas and Meiying spend a good amount of screentime together, so maybe Jonas and Suyin did wind up being an item for a time after The Meg’s ending.
What To Expect From The Meg 2: The Trench
The Meg was a surprise smash, so a sequel felt like a no-brainer. The Meg 2: The Trench will see the return of Jonas and some other cast members from the original, including Cliff Curtis and Page Kennedy. Newcomers include Wolf Warrior star Wu Jing and Sienna Guillory, while Kill List’s Ben Wheatley takes over as director. The Meg 2’s trailer promises an increase in carnage, with the Megs hunting in packs, an even bigger Meg alpha and other prehistoric monsters emerging from the trench.
There are new toys for the heroes to play with too, including an underwater exo suit. Unfortunately, the sequel will be rated PG-13 like the original The Meg, meaning it won’t be much bloodier than its predecessor. The Meg 2 will include the infamous opening passage of the novel, however, where a megalodon is seen killing a T. Rex. Overall, the sequel is promising to be a bigger, more action-packed romp than the original.

Post navigation