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Just a few weeks ago, the week after Sharknado mania took the world by storm, a Syfy producer told me that the network was now all about finding the next Sharknado: anything with an outlandish premise and an even goofier title that could go viral on social media. And here we go.
Before tornadoes filled with sharks, the Roger Corman-produced Sharktopus was the king of the Syfy Original Movie monsters. Looks like Sharktopus is determined to take back that crown with two new films that pit the military-bred shark with tentacles against two monstrous opponents of equally, if not even more, outlandish proportions.
Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda – Sharktopus’ offspring goes toe-to-toe with the latest science experiment “Pteracuda” in a battle for supremacy.
What is a Pteracuda? I’m guessing it’s a half-Pterodactyl/half-Barracuda creature. A shark with tentacles vs. a winged man-eating fish is on the menu.
Kevin O’Neill (director of Dinocroc, Dinoshark, and the upcoming Syfy Original Dracano – the one about volcanoes that erupt fire-breathing dragons) is at the helm of this Sharktopus sequel that is now in post-production.
David Carradine is, sadly, no longer with us to star in such films so his brother Robert Carradine will take the lead in this super-sized smackdown for seafood supremacy. I think we all know who is going to win this one seeing as how they’ve already announced plans for the third film.
Another sequel in already in pre-production, and this one features a foe so off-the-charts ridiculous it makes Sharknado look like a Terrence Malick movie. This is the sequel that had to have been greenlit post-Sharknado because… just read the synopsis for yourself.
Sharktopus vs. Mermantula – In order to take down Sharktopus, Ray Brady, a former basketball player, is injected with a transformation serum that alters his genetic make-up to become part man, part piranha and part tarantula. Though unsuccessful at his first attempt to bring down Sharktopus, Ray injects himself with a growth hormone, increasing his strength tenfold, and has a final showdown with Sharktopus in a baseball stadium.
Screw Pteracuda, this is the one I want to see. That’s a crazy premise even by Japanese monster standards, and I once saw a Japanese TV show where a giant 1950s-style robot fought a monster that sprung to life from a giant floating watermelon. Bring it on, I say.
Who is bringing it on? Why, it’s director Kevin O’Neill again. Casper Van Dien and his real-life wife, Catherine Oxenberg, are slated to star. Something tells me neither of them is playing the ex-NBA player turned man-fish-spider.
Both Sharktopus sequels are scripted by Matt Yamashita, writer of Virtually Heroes, the Roger Corman-produced self-aware video game characters comedy that’s been making the film festival rounds.
Will there be even more sequels to follow? I think we all know there is only one way this can truly end: Sharknadopus!