Renny Harlin Unleashes Deep Water: Killer Shark Thriller Bites Into Theaters in 2026

Renny Harlin is back in the water. The director of Deep Blue Sea has a new shark thriller called Deep Water, and after a long swim through production and distribution, it finally has a date: it hits theaters May 1, 2026. Yes, 2026. File this under: movies we will be talking about for a while before we actually see them.

So what is Deep Water?

The setup leans into old-school disaster-movie chaos with a sharp contemporary hook. Written by Pete Bridges and John Kim, the story follows an international mix of passengers on a Los Angeles-to-Shanghai flight that has to ditch in the ocean. The plane ends up in shark-heavy waters, the fuselage is sinking, and everyone has to pull together (and stop bickering) to survive the wreck and the frenzy circling around it. If you are hearing echoes of 70s disaster fare with a big creature-feature garnish, you are not wrong.

Who is making this thing?

This is the first project out of Simmons/Hamilton Productions, the company Gene Simmons launched in 2023 with producer Gary Hamilton. The Harlin connection is exactly what you think it is: bring in the guy who has already staged aquatic panic with Deep Blue Sea, and let him do his thing again. Also worth noting: Harlin previously worked with star Aaron Eckhart on The Bricklayer, so there is a preexisting shorthand on set.

• Aaron Eckhart (The Bricklayer)
• Sir Ben Kingsley (Gandhi)
• Molly Wright (Netflix's True Spirit)
• Angus Sampson (Mad Max: Fury Road)
• Kelly Gale (Plane)
• Li Wenhan (singer/actor; member of the Chinese-Korean K-pop group UNIQ)
• Nashi (Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms)

Behind the scenes

The producing bench is deep, even by shark-movie standards: Arclight Films' Ying Ye, Gabba Post's Neal Kingston, Aristos Films' Grant Bradley and Dale Bradley, and Nostromo Pictures' Adrian Guerra and Xavier Parache all produced. Executive producers include Brian Beckmann and Ryan Hamilton for Arclight Films, Vladimir Artemenko for Top Film Distribution, Rob Van Norden, and Johanna Harlin. Production shot in New Zealand and Spain and wrapped at the end of 2023.

Who is releasing it and when?

Eight months ago, Magenta Light Studios — the distributor behind last year's Strange Darling — picked up domestic rights with a theatrical plan. The Wrap now has the specific date: May 1, 2026. In other words, expect this to be positioned as a big-screen, crowd-pleaser type of rollout rather than a quick streaming drop.

"One of the most nerve-wracking plane crash scenes ever witnessed on film... the kind of movie that is made for the big screen."

— Bob Yari, Magenta Light Studios

Harlin, for his part, is openly leaning into the vintage disaster-movie DNA here, which honestly fits the premise like a glove.

"Spectacular action and unforgettable characters... the kind of movie I dreamed of making since I grew up loving the '70s disaster movies."

— Renny Harlin

The inside baseball

Yes, that is Gene Simmons of Kiss behind the company that first greenlit this. Also, the producer and executive producer roster is long enough to need its own life raft, which usually means international financing and a global play were baked in from day one. The New Zealand and Spain shoots back that up.

Deep Water is a classic high-concept sell — trapped passengers, sinking jet, sharks everywhere — with a director who has literally done this genre before. Now we wait. Are you in for Harlin's return to fin country when it finally surfaces in theaters May 1, 2026?