Is there a sequel to ‘Under Paris’? Netflix's most watched 2024 film gets huge update
There's something about the primeval terror associated with sharks that film audiences can't get enough of. The Sharksploitation genre has given us several jarring hits in the past, along with a few gems here and there, the most notable being the Steven Spielberg-led Summer blockbuster 'Jaws'. In contemporary parlance, the French shark thriller 'Under Paris' caused quite a stir when it was first released in 2024 as 'Sous la Seine', or 'Under the Seine' in English. The movie was directed by Xavier Gens and became a massive success following its Netflix streaming premiere.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that 'Under Paris' is now set to have a sequel movie. Nevertheless, an official release window has not yet been announced. According to the report, several changes will mark the upcoming sequel, with horror director Alexandre Aja taking over from Gens as director. Bérénice Bejo, who starred in the original movie as marine biologist Sophia Assalas, is expected to reprise her role. Producer Vincent Roget is another returning crew member, taking up his role as the producer of the sequel movie. The reasons behind Gens' departure from the franchise have not yet been made public as of this writing, and we don't yet know whether he will be associated with the sequel in any capacity.
When asked about the screenplay credits for the upcoming movie, Netflix declined to comment. As Collider explains, the original movie featured Sophia throwing herself into a race against time to rescue Paris from the clutches of a strange mutant shark named Lilith. The shark itself acquired the ability to survive in freshwater and posed a great threat to the ongoing Triathlon, which the Mayor of Paris egged on despite the looming threat.
The battle against the shark brought immense pain and suffering to Sophia, as she was not only forced to reckon with her traumatic past but was also riddled with guilt over the violent deaths of her husband and her colleague, who fell to the shark's cunning menace. The original movie ended with a gripping cliffhanger as Sophia teamed up with police driver Adil to track and kill the monstrous shark. It can be speculated that the sequel would venture into the exploits of Lilith's shark offspring. Judging by his filmography, Aja is the perfect candidate to direct the sequel, having made a name for himself in water-based abominations.
Aja first broke out with his 2003 French slasher flick 'Haute Tension'. He followed this up by directing the darkly intense remake of Wes Craven's horror classic 'The Hills Have Eyes'. Aja's other notable works include 'Piranha 3D' and the crocodile disaster cum survival movie 'Crawl'. 'Under Paris' is now streaming on Netflix.
