One of the upcoming movies that we’re most looking forward to here at Moonbase Alpha is the big screen adaptation of Steve Alten’s Meg. Well, Alten himself has moved to give an update on what fans of his Megalodon-driven novels can expect from this adaptation.

Speaking to iHorror, Alten enthused, “Filming completed in New Zealand and China in mid-December. I have not seen any footage other than what has been posted on Instagram but I understand everything looks amazing. It will be edge-of-year-seat scary.”

With a $150 million budget in place, Alten added that the movie has “the best special effects in the business, a $150 million budget, a great script, an international cast of stars led by the perfect guy to play Jonas Taylor, Jason Statham.”

In case you’re not familiar with Meg, Steve Alten’s MEG: A Novel of Deep Terror was released in 1997 and has spawned several follow-ups, with the action focussing on the 80-foot Megalodon and the tale often described as “Jurassic Park with a shark” as the California coast is terrorized by this ancient threat.

The current synopsis for the Meg movie reads:

A deep-sea submersible – part of an international undersea observation program – has been attacked by a massive creature, previously thought to be extinct, and now lies disabled at the bottom of the deepest trench in the Pacific… with its crew trapped inside. With time running out, expert deep sea rescuer diver Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) is recruited by a visionary Chinese oceanographer (Winston Cho), against the wishes of his daughter Suyin (Li Bingbing), to save the crew – and the ocean itself – from this unstoppable threat: a prehistoric 75-foot-long shark known as the Megalodon. What no one could have imagined is that, years before, Taylor had encountered the same terrifying creature. Now, teamed with Suyin, he must confront his fears and risk his own life to save everyone trapped below… brining him face to face once more with the greatest and largest predator of all time.

The rest of the cast is filled out by Cliff Curtis, Ruby Rose, Rainn Wilson, Page Kennedy, Jessica McNamee, Robert Taylor, Sophia Shuya Cai, and Masi Oka.

To be directed by Jon Turtletaub, Meg is currently set for a March 2nd, 2018 release.