Jason's new film "The Meg" is scheduled to be released in mainland China, and Li Bingbing has confirmed to join the cast

Li Bingbing has confirmed that she will join the Hollywood movie "The Meg" with Jason Statham. The film is currently in pre-production in New Zealand and plans to shoot in China this year. Warner Bros. has announced that the film will be released in North American theaters on March 2, 2018, and will be released in China during the 2018 Spring Festival .

It is understood that "The Meg" is adapted from the science fiction novel series of the same name by American writer Steve Alton and directed by Joe Detduba, the director of the "National Treasure" series.

The story tells of an international scientific research project led by China that was being carried out in the depths of the Mariana Trench. It was attacked by unknown creatures and the researchers were trapped on the seabed. Deep-sea diving expert Jonas Taylor was ordered to take charge of the situation and once again encountered the prehistoric creature Megalodon, which he had fought against several years ago . Jonas teamed up with Chinese female scientist Zhang Suyin to rescue the trapped people, but accidentally caused the Megalodon to escape from the deep sea. When the prehistoric monster returns to the shallow sea, humans will pay the price for their greed for nature. Jonas Taylor is played by Jason Statham, and Chinese female scientist Zhang Suyin is played by Li Bingbing.

The director of photography for the film is Tom Stern. As Clint Eastwood's personal photographer, Stern has served as director of photography for films such as Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Flags of Our Fathers, American Sniper, and Sully, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Changeling. Grant Major, who won an Oscar for The Lord of the Rings trilogy, will serve as the art director for The Meg. Steven Kemper, who has served as an editor for Face/Off, Mission: Impossible 2, and Salt, will be responsible for the film's editing.

It is worth mentioning that Fan Bingbing had previously announced her withdrawal from The Meg due to "conflicts with the promotion schedules of I Am Not Madame Bovary and Lord of the Rings". Later, the news that Li Bingbing would join the film spread like wildfire. In response , Li Bingbing clarified that she had received an invitation to The Meg last year, but she declined at the time due to schedule constraints. Later, the producer invited her again, and the two sides contacted and communicated again. The film crew said that Li Bingbing's fluent English lines, acting skills, and rich experience in starring in Hollywood movies made her the perfect choice for the heroine Zhang Suyin . The crew invited Li Bingbing to join with great sincerity, and Gravity Pictures and Warner Bros. were honored to have her join.

It is reported that The Meg is jointly produced by Gravity Pictures, Flagship Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures under the Chinese Culture Foundation. It is co-produced by Di Bonaventura Pictures, Abili Entertainment, Maeday Films and Beijing Digital Impression Cultural Communication Co., Ltd. Gravity Pictures will be responsible for the distribution of The Meg in China, while Warner Bros. will be responsible for the distribution of the film outside of China.