RLJE Films and Shudder Snag Rights to Killer Shark Film Great White

As long as people have been exploring the seas, stories have circled about the terrors that lurk beneath the surface, with the upcoming horror movie Great White set to be the latest adventure that will make audiences want to stay as far away from the ocean as possible. Ever since Stephen Spielberg’s Jaws made waves back in 1975, audiences have taken immense joy in witnessing aquatic horrors unfold, ensuring that as long as movies are being made, filmmakers will deliver terrifying tales about massive beasts. RLJE Films aims to release Great White theatrically later this summer while the film is expected to make its streaming debut exclusively on Shudder later this year.

Written by Michael Boughen (Dying Breed) and directed by Martin Wilson in his feature debut, Great White stars Katrina Bowden (Piranha 3DD, 30 Rock), Aaron Jakubenko (Tidelands), Kimie Tsukakoshi (Riptide), Tim Kano (Neighbours), and TeKohe Tuhaka (Love and Monsters, The Dead Lands).

“We’ve all been afraid to go back into the water since 1975 and Great White is going to keep us out of the water for years to come,” Mark Ward, Chief Acquisitions Officer at RLJE Films, shared in a statement. “There is no better time than the summer to bring this suspenseful and terrifying new film to audiences.”

In Great White, a blissful tourist trip turns into a nightmare when five seaplane passengers are stranded miles from shore. In a desperate bid for survival, the group tries to make it to land before they either run out of supplies or are taken by a menacing terror lurking just beneath the surface.

Great White was produced by Neal Kingston (Nerve), Michael Robertson (The Reef), and Pam Collis (Black Water: Abyss) through new production outfit Thrills & Spills. Ward and Jess De Leo on behalf of RLJE Films and Emily Gotto from Shudder negotiated the deal with Mike Runagall and Gursharn Khaira of Altitude Films on behalf of the filmmakers.

On an almost yearly basis, shark-based horror movies are unveiled, the success of which often fluctuate. Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, horror films aimed to merely replicate the success of Jaws, while the ’00s and ’10s aimed to offer more authentic experiences featuring the fish. Recent years have seen films like The Shallows and 47 Meters Down become hits with audiences.

Stay tuned for details on Great White before it hits theaters this summer and Shudder later this year.

Are you looking forward to the new movie? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!