Shark action specialist Renny Harlin is back this year with Deep Water, starring Aaron Eckhart. It now has a distributor in the US, and set for release in 2025.
Filming wrapped on Deep Water, the latest movie from action director Renny Harlin, in February 2024. Almost exactly a year later, it’s been announced that it now has a US distributor: Magenta Light Studios, which put out last year’s excellent horror thriller, Strange Darling. Deep Water is now set for release in US cinemas this year, which potentially means a UK appearance won’t be too far behind.
The disaster thriller sees Harlin return to the realm of sharks, having previously directed the batty cult favourite Deep Blue Sea in 1999. Starring Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingsley, Deep Water (not to be confused with the saucy Adrian Lyne film of the same title) is about an LA to Shanghai plane journey that goes awry, leaving its passengers and crew in waters infested by toothsome apex predators.
Producer Bob Yari, owner of Magenta Light Studios, has given a favourable verdict on the film he’s just acquired in a statement given to Deadline. It contains “one of the most nerve-wracking plane crash scenes ever witnessed on film,” he says. “It is the kind of movie that is made for the big screen and we are excited to bring it to audiences in theatres this year.”
Last year, Harlin cited 70s disaster movie The Poseidon Adventure as a reference point for his latest film – a sentiment he repeats in his own statement. “Deep Water represents the kind of movie I’ve dreamed of making since I grew up loving the 70s disaster movies,” he said. “Spectacular action and unforgettable characters who didn’t leave a dry eye in the movie theatre.”
Harlin also told us last year that Deep Water is the “ultimate shark film”. We’ll take his word for it.
Read more: 25 years later, Deep Blue Sea remains the best post-Jaws shark film
Harlin also indicates that Deep Water will be getting a sizeable cinema release in the US – rather than one of those apologetic runs where a movie plays on all of five screens before shuffling off to a streaming platform.
“I’m proud to have a wide theatrical release for a movie that deserves to be seen and heard on the biggest possible number of screens across the country,” Harlin added.
Whether it’ll get the same treatment in the UK likely depends on the public’s reaction over the pond, but Magenta Light clearly has faith in Harlin’s briny concoction, written by Pete Bridges and John Kim.
The same Deadline piece also announces that Magenta Light has picked up Bride Hard, an action comedy starring Rebel Wilson, which, as the title implies, is essentially Die Hard at a wedding ceremony. Its director is Simon West, perhaps best known for the hugely enjoyable Nic Cage action film Con Air (1997).
Like Deep Water, Bride Hard is also scheduled for release in 2025. It’s like the late 1990s all over again!
