Jason Statham staring off a boat in The MegImage via Warner Bros. Pictures
By
Ryan O'Rourke
Published Feb 6, 2026, 6:14 PM EST
Ryan O'Rourke is a Senior News Writer at Collider with a specific interest in all things adult animation, video game adaptations, and the work of Mike Flanagan. He is also an experienced baseball writer with over six years of articles between multiple outlets, most notably FanSided's CubbiesCrib. Whether it's taking in a baseball game, a new season of Futurama or Castlevania: Nocturne, or playing the latest From Software title, he is always finding ways to show his fandom. When it comes to gaming and anything that takes inspiration from it, he is deeply opinionated on what's going on. Outside of entertainment, he's a graduate of Eureka College with a Bachelor's in Communication where he honed his craft as a writer. Between The IV Leader at Illinois Valley Community College and The Pegasus at Eureka, he spent the majority of his college career publishing articles on everything from politics to campus happenings and, of course, entertainment for the student body. Those principles he learned covering the 2020 election, Palestine, and so much more are brought here to Collider, where he has gleefully written on everything from the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes to Nathan Lane baby-birding sewer boys.
Sign in to your Collider account
Add Us On
follow
Follow
followed
Followed
Like
Like
Thread
1
Log in
Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents:
Try something different:
Show me the facts
Explain it like I’m 5
Give me a lighthearted recap
Giant sharks aren't leaving our screens anytime soon. Back in 2024, Netflix took its own stab at the sharksploitation genre with Under Paris, a French horror thriller that saw Paris beset by a mutated variant of the predator big enough to rival The Meg lurking within the Seine River as the city prepared to hold the World Triathlon Championships. Despite debuting to mixed reviews, it exploded on the platform, becoming its second-most-watched non-English film ever, behind only Troll. All the success, unsurprisingly, earned Xavier Gens' film a sequel, and now, nearly two years later, a new report has confirmed who will continue the shark-infested carnage.
Another prominent French director, Alexandre Aja, is set to take the reins in Gens' place for Under Paris 2. At this time, it's unknown why Gens stepped away, but his replacement is a strong fit nonetheless, having become a known commodity when it comes to water-based creature features, including the campy Piranha 3D and the crocodile disaster flick Crawl. He also helmed the widely-praised and much darker 2006 remake of The Hills Have Eyes and, most recently, took on the under-the-radar Halle Berry supernatural mystery Never Let Go for Lionsgate. Netflix has yet to announce who is writing the script or if Gens will be back in any other capacity for the follow-up. When the sequel was first announced, he was said to be developing with hopes of filming beginning in the fall of 2025.
Plot details for the Under Paris sequel have yet to be shared, but it's expected to bring back star Bérénice Bejo to reprise her role as marine biologist Sophia Assalas. Producer Vincent Roget is also back in the fold. The first film followed Sophia as she raced to save Paris from a certain bloodbath courtesy of the giant shark named Lilith in the Seine. In the process, she had to face her past and reckon with the violent death of her husband and colleague at the jaws of said shark. The result is a thrilling Jaws-like tale that goes off the rails, as she joins forces with police diver Adil (Nassim Lyes) to hunt down and kill the monstrosity as Paris's mayor tries to rush the Triathlon along despite the danger. Presumably, Aja will pick up from the bleak ending Gens left viewers on, which saw the duo's plans fail and all hell break loose as the city's center is plunged underwater and Lilith's offspring flood the rest of the world.
'Under Paris 2' Follows a Long String of Beloved Shark Horrors
While Aja may have experience with terrors in the water, it'll be a tall task to replicate the success of Under Paris and create a shark flick that can stand with the best. The genre is flooded with films of varying quality, but it's also delivered some truly classic films like Steven Spielberg's aforementioned Jaws or the quiet low-budget horror Open Water. Last year even saw a new addition to the sharksploitation oeuvre that earned widespread acclaim — the Jai Courtney-led Dangerous Animals, following a surfer who gets dragged to the ocean by a shark-obsessed serial killer to be ritualistically fed to the sea creatures. Expectations remain high that Aja can create another fun, chaotic, and bloody ride that'll draw audiences back to the infested waters of Paris, though.
CL Report: Subscribe and never miss what matters
Dive into the world of entertainment with Collider, delivering the latest news, reviews, and exclusive updates from movies, TV, and pop culture Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.Under Paris is now streaming on Netflix. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the sequel now that Aja is on board.
Under Paris
Like Follow Followed Mystery Thriller Action Release Date June 5, 2024 Runtime 101 Minutes Director Xavier Gens Writers Xavier Gens, Yannick Dahan, Maud HeywangCast
See All-
Berenice Bejo
-
Nassim Lyes
-
Léa Léviant
-
Anaïs Parello
Expand
Collapse
-
Under Paris
-
The Meg
CL Report: Subscribe and never miss what matters
Dive into the world of entertainment with Collider, delivering the latest news, reviews, and exclusive updates from movies, TV, and pop culture Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.What To Watch
July 20, 2025
The 72 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now
Trending Now
Netflix Decides the Fate of Its Criminally Underrated Action Thriller Series
This 145-Minute Sci-Fi Franchise-Saver Is a Streaming Super-Hit
Netflix Finally Decides the Fate of Its Groundbreaking Sci-Fi Series
