The Megfranchise has put some high expectations on what Megalodons were like in real life, and, as might be expected, the Jason Statham action movies get a few things wrong.The MegandThe Meg 2are based on the booksof the same name by Steve Alten, a series of increasingly absurd and unbelievable, but admittedly fun, novels. The firstThe Megpremiered in 2018 and the sequel arrived in 2023. In both films, Jason Statham plays Jonas Taylor, a deep-sea rescue diver who always ends up on the wrong end of a giant, murderous shark.
Among themany absurdities inThe Megis the design of its central villain.The “Meg” of the title is shorthand for “Megalodon”, an ancient fish that used to patrol the world’s oceansfor 13 million years, before going extinct around the late Pliocene Epoch (viaNHM). A massive predatory shark that looked not unlike a magnified Great White Shark, the Megalodon ate everything in the ocean with few exceptions. A predator so big would naturally catch the attention of moviemakers and viewers, butThe Megdoes a little tweaking of their fearsome fish.
Real-Life Megalodons Were Big, But Not As Big As The Sharks In The Meg
A Complete Fossil Of A Megalodon Has Never Been Discovered
There are several large sharks inThe Megmovies with sizes ranging from 62 feet to 80 feet, with one character suggesting some of the fish are 90 feet long (viaSNExplores). However, this is much larger than even the biggest estimations of Megalodon from real-life history.Most estimates place the sharks anywhere from 50 to 60 feet in length, which is still three times the size of a modern-day Great White Shark. It’s basically the size of a Whale Shark, the largest extant shark in the world (viaDepartmentOfFisheries).
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Whale Sharks are peaceful, filter-feeding sharks, however, and are not a threat to humans. Judging from the large teeth of Megalodons, there is little question about what it is they ate. It’s their teeth that scientists have used to estimate the sharks' size, as no complete fossils of Megalodons have ever been found. InThe Meg, it’s said that the Megalodon could bite clean through a whale and break apart an unbreakable cage, butscientists agree the real-life shark wouldn’t have the jaw strength to accomplish such incredible feats(viaForbes).
Other Scientific Inaccuracies In The Meg Movies
The Meg And Meg 2 Are Still A Lot Of Fun
There are plenty of other inaccuracies inThe Megfranchise, including the location where the sharks are found. In the movies, the sharks live in the Mariana Trench, while in real life,their fossils are found along shallow continental shelves, 50–200 feet below the ocean’s surface. The reason is simple: there’s not enough food in the Mariana Trench to support such a big animal. However, Megalodons did not eat as much as one might think, particularly as much as the movies suggest.
A person is more likely to die from an attack from wasps, dogs, or snakes than they are from sharks (viaWAF).
In the films, the Megalodons eat people like popcorn, but in real life, one human per day would be enough to sustain an animal of that size. Beachgoers needn’t fear as long as they can swim faster than the person next to them.The MegandMeg 2: The Trenchare not looking to teach about the specifics of an ancient animal in real life, however, so inaccuracies aren’t a real problem.The Megmovies are action-packed monster films and, in that respect, they succeed.
The Meg
TheMegfranchise is a science fiction action-horror series centered around prehistoric sea creatures, particularly the massive Megalodon sharks. The films follow Jonas Taylor, a deep-sea rescue diver, as he battles these enormous predators that resurface from the depths of the ocean. Based on Steve Alten’s 1997 novelMeg: A Novel of Deep Terror, the franchise blends high-stakes action with thrilling encounters between humanity and these ancient creatures.
