One of Netflix’s Most-Watched Horror Movies Is Officially Getting a Sequel (And It Might Be Better Than the Original)

Netflix’s most-watched horror movie is getting a sequel, and it has a director who almost assures it could eclipse the first film. Released on the streaming service in 2024, Under Paris was a French disaster shark movie that saw a giant killer shark make its way into Paris by way of the Seine. The film hit Netflix on June 5, 2024, and it received mixed-to-positive reviews, but the real mark of its success was the viewing numbers it reached. Under Paris hit the number one position on Netflix and was viewed more than 40 million times in its first week, more than enough to warrant a sequel.

Now, The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Netflix has officially greenlit the sequel, but with one major change. Xavier Gens (Hitman, Lupin) will not return to direct the sequel. Instead, genre favorite Alexandre Aja will direct the second movie in the series. Aja is best known for his 2003 horror film High Tension, the remake of The Hills Have Eyes, and the creature features Piranha 3D and Crawl. Those last two seem to make him a perfect fit for Under Paris 2. Gens wrote the first movie, and there is no word on who will write the sequel.

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Under Paris 2 Could Take Franchise Worldwide

The first Under Paris movie left the door wide open for a sequel. The movie showed how a giant shark had made its way into Paris before people realized it had mutated to adapt to fresh water and become pregnant. While there was a threat she could reproduce and create other mutated sharks, the Mayor of Paris refused to take things seriously, causing many people to die and allowing the sharks to escape. The film had obvious similarities to Jaws, both with the killer shark and the incompetent mayor.

Under Paris also ended with a map shown during the end credits revealing that the mutated shark, named Lilith, and her offspring had proliferated outside of Paris and ended up in the major river cities of the world, including London, New York, Bangkok, Venice, and Tokyo. The map showed that these sharks have colonized the entire world, leaving a global catastrophe for Alexandre Aja to explore as he enters the franchise.

As Aja showed in his brilliantly comic movie Piranha 3D, he has the skill to mix darkly humorous moments with horror, gore, and gruesome mayhem. This should play well in Under Paris 2, as the first film refused to take itself seriously and instead worked on delivering an intense, yet fun shark attack movie for anyone who loves iconic releases like Jaws or genre offerings like Deep Blue Sea and The Meg. More than anything, Under Paris 2 has to be fun, and the new director should be more than capable of elevating the sequel to an even higher level.

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