Shark movies are risky. They can either go on to be one of the best movies of all time or a giant meme. There’s no telling which way it will go.
So when Under Paris dropped on Netflix, it would have made sense for the film, about a shark attack in France, to fade into the depths of Netflix, never to be seen again. It sometimes happens.
But the makers of the film clearly forgot how “in” France is right now, thanks to the 2024 Olympics, the recent elections and Emily In Paris season four, so the movie became an unexpected Top 10 hit.
The movie follows a young climate scientist who discovers that there is shark in the depths of the Seine river in Paris, right before a world triathlon. While it might seem too on the nose, filmmaker Xavier Gens told Variety that it’s not just about the upcoming Olympic Games. “We’re targeting everyone! Not just the Olympics,” he explained. “We’re anticipating the media circus that will go on this summer, and riffing on the ideology that’s put forward around the Olympics. In principle, the Olympics are all about bringing people from everywhere in the world, all together. And that’s great, and virtuous. But there is also a lot of hypocrisy and a commercial ideology behind this which I don’t support.”
While there is no plan for a sequel at the moment, Gens said that he has an idea in mind should Netflix greenlight another installment. “Right now, as of today, we’re not on it but there’s a chance that we’ll be discussing it soon. If there is a sequel, it will take place in a Paris that is entirely submerged underwater.” Hopefully Emily will be out of Paris by then.
You can watch Under Paris now on Netflix