Deep Blue Sea director Renny Harlin tackling yet another briny thriller

by Ryan Lambie | October 21, 2025

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Renny Harlin, director of the clever shark classic Deep Blue Sea, is making another sea-based thriller: Black Tides, starring John Travolta and Melissa Barrera. For most filmmakers, shooting one thriller at sea is enough – just ask Steven Spielberg. But Renny Harlin, the director who brought us the 1999 smart shark extravaganza Deep Blue Sea, ... Deep Blue Sea director Renny Harlin tackling yet another briny thriller

Renny Harlin, director of the clever shark classic Deep Blue Sea, is making another sea-based thriller: Black Tides, starring John Travolta and Melissa Barrera.

For most filmmakers, shooting one thriller at sea is enough – just ask Steven Spielberg. But Renny Harlin, the director who brought us the 1999 smart shark extravaganza Deep Blue Sea, he’s returning to the waves not once, but twice.

Readers may recall that the Finnish filmmaker finished filming Deep Water last year – a new shark piece in which a cast including Ben Kingsley and Aaron Eckhart fend off attacks somewhere in the South Pacific. Since delayed, that movie is now due for release in May 2026.

Harlin now has set off on another adventure on the high seas – albeit one not featuring sharks, we should add. This time, it’s John Travolta and Melissa Barrera in trouble, as their characters go sailing off the Spanish coast and find themselves surrounded by ‘rogue orcas’ according to Deadline.

The script is co-written by Chris Sparling, who previously brought us the robust end-of-the-world action film Greenland, starring Gerard Butler. His partner is Angel Agudo, who wrote the Spanish zombie outing Apocalypse Z: The Beginning Of The End.

Black Tides is another film about estranged fathers patching up relationships with their kids; Travolta’s been cast for a while, though Barrera, who’ll play his daughter, has only recently joined up.

“Melissa brings both fire and vulnerability to a role that demands it all – emotionally, physically, and cinematically,” Harlin said in a statement. “She and John are movie magic together, and they elevate every beat of this story.”

Also along for the ride are Ella Bleu Travolta (the Pulp Fiction star’s real-world daughter), Alvaro Mel and Dylan Torrell, the latter playing Travolta’s grandson.

Instances of orcas attacking humans are rare, so we’re likely in for a bit of artistic licence here – much like Orca, a 1977 thriller in which an angry whale menaced Richard Harris and Charlotte Rampling on a fishing boat. (Bo Derek ends up with a missing leg.)

Here’s a fun fact we’ve just discovered: Deep Water’s producer is Gene Simmons, the Kiss glam rocker and star of Michael Crichton’s 1984 killer robot flick, Runaway.

More on Black Tides, Deep Water and Harlin’s other fishy antics as we get it.