Movie fans have been awaiting an adaptation of the Steve Alten book MEG: A Novel of Deep Terror for a long, long time. The movie, simply titled MEG, has been fighting its way toward making it to the big screen for almost two decades now, and it looks like it might finally be ready to become a reality.

It’s being reported that Eli Roth, director of Cabin Fever, Hostel, and Hostel: Part II, has entered into negotiations to direct the movie for Warner Brothers.

Continue below for more and to watch a trailer for the book.

It’s easy to see why movie fans would be excited to see MEG made: it’s about a giant shark. But instead of the ocean’s current apex predator king that we saw in Steven Spielberg’s JAWS, the great white shark, the movie features the ultimate predatory shark, the megalodon.

The book’s story follows two people who join forces to deal with a megalodon shark upwards of 60 feet long—the size of a bus—that is threatening the California coast. In the movie, it will instead be the coast of China—a change that was made in order to help bring in Gravity Pictures as a co-financier of the project.

Fans of Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week” have become more familiar with the animal, for better or (probably) worse, in recent years when a mockumentary about the megalodon was aired instead of real, educational specials.

And speaking of “Shark Week,” which begins early next month, Roth is set to host a talk show after the specials air each night titled Shark After Dark, similarly to AMC’s The Talking Dead after episodes of The Walking Dead.

Warner Brothers has apparently been really big on the script for the movie, which is written by Dean Georgaris, and even saw its potential to be a big blockbuster before the Jurassic Park franchise returned to theaters with Jurassic World and did huge numbers.

Georgaris’s previous writing credits include Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, Paycheck, The Manchurian Candidate, and Tristan + Isolde.

Next up for Roth is The Green Inferno, which is set for a September 25th release date.

Trailer

[Source: Variety]