'The Meg' Novel Getting 20th-Anniversary Special Release Celebrating Upcoming Film

After the debut of its first trailer earlier this week, fans can't seem to get enough of The Meg, the shark-themed horror film starring Jason Statham. The film was based on the novel Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror by author Steve Alten, which is getting a special 20th-anniversary re-release featuring the film's poster as its cover.

The special re-release will be limited to 1,700 copies, will include the prequel story Meg: Origins, and will be signed by Alten. The special edition of the book is slated to arrive in May-early June.

You can grab a copy of The Meg over at Alten's website.

In the film:

"A deep-sea submersible—part of an international undersea observation program—has been attacked by a massive creature, previously thought to be extinct, and now lies disabled at the bottom of the deepest trench in the Pacific…with its crew trapped inside. With time running out, expert deep sea rescue diver Jonas Taylor (Statham) is recruited by a visionary Chinese oceanographer (Winston Chao), against the wishes of his daughter Suyin (Li Bingbing), to save the crew—and the ocean itself—from this unstoppable threat: a pre-historic 75-foot-long shark known as the Megalodon. What no one could have imagined is that, years before, Taylor had encountered this same terrifying creature. Now, teamed with Suyin, he must confront his fears and risk his own life to save everyone trapped below…bringing him face to face once more with the greatest and largest predator of all time."

Steven Spielberg's Jaws is considered by many to be the defining shark-themed horror film, but that hasn't stopped other films from trying to cash in on that movie's success. The Meg is only the latest film in the last few years to attempt to replicate its predecessor's achievements.

In 2016, The Shallows hit theaters, featuring a young surfer who became stranded just offshore with nothing a hungry shark standing between her and the safety of the sand. In 2017, 47 Meters Down depicted two divers whose shark-diving cage plummeted to the bottom of the ocean, once again pitting victims against a shiver of hungry sharks in hopes of swimming to safety.

Trailers for The Meg have depicted the film embracing the ludicrous premise of the story, which is sure to be a crowd-pleaser this summer.

The Meg swims into theaters on August 10th.

Will you be grabbing a copy of The Meg? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!

[H/T SteveAlten.com]