What To Expect From Underwater 2

Be advised, major plot spoilers for Underwater are included below.

Fox’s new deep sea monster movie Underwater leaves the door open a crack for a potential sequel, but it’s not yet clear if one will happen. Underwater has received a bit of a divided reaction so far, with mixed reviews (leaning negative) from critics, but a higher success rate with moviegoers. Horror fans in particular seem to be a lot more appreciative of what Underwater offers than more mainstream audiences. That’s not really surprising, since it contains some really cool creatures.

The opening weekend box office receipts aren’t quite in yet, but projections so far aren’t looking good, with a likely domestic total of less than $10 million, and a placement in the lower half of the top 10. Considering the positive sentiments from many who’ve actually seen Underwater though, it’s not impossible to imagine the film taking off on home video, and becoming a cult hit worthy of an eventual sequel. With a reported budget around $50 million, however, things definitely aren’t guaranteed.

Regardless of finances, Underwater‘s ending certainly did leave things open for a sequel, albeit one without lead character Norah Price (Kristen Stewart), who sacrificed her life to stop the giant boss monster’s rampage. If an Underwater 2 happens, here’s what we think it’ll entail.

Underwater 2 Isn’t Confirmed (Yet)

As of this writing, there’s been no noise made one way or the other about an Underwater 2 happening. Considering the underwhelming box office outlook, Fox (and parent company Disney) will likely wait until after the film hits home video to assess whether making a sequel would be worth the time and cost. If one does happen, look for it to receive a substantially smaller budget.

Underwater 2 Release Date

Should an Underwater 2 ultimately be greenlit, it likely wouldn’t arrive for several years. Underwater was a film heavy on complex visual effects, and took about 2.5 years to be released after production wrapped. This was likely due to lots of time spent in post-production, due to the aforementioned effects. If Underwater 2 were to begin filming sometime in 2021, it probably wouldn’t arrive until 2024, at the earliest.

Underwater 2 Story Details

While Underwater ended with Emily (Jessica Henwick) and Smith (John Gallagher Jr) escaping to the surface and being rescued thanks to Norah’s sacrifice, and the enormous Cthulhu-esque monster seemingly being killed when the oil rig exploded, that doesn’t rule out a sequel. The very last images of the film reveal that after Emily and Smith were rescued, Tian Industries successfully managed to cover up the truth of what happened to their ocean floor complex, and announced plans to expand their drilling operation even further. Since drilling so far down was implied to be what woke up the Lovecraftian monster in the first place, more drilling will likely result in the arrival of further gigantic beasts. So, Underwater 2 would likely see a new drilling crew fighting to escape from becoming a human-sized snack.

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