Deep Blue Sea and Deep Water director Renny Harlin is returning for another ocean-based creature feature with Black Tides, an upcoming survival thriller inspired by real-life orca attacks.
Reporting the news today, Deadline reveals that Black Tides is written by Chris Sparling (Buried) and Ángel Agudo (Prime Video’s Apocalypse Z).
The film, due to shoot at the end of summer, will tell the story of Rebecca, “who reunites with her estranged father, Bill, in sunny Málaga expecting a healing family trip with her young son, Sebastian. Instead, their voyage across the Strait of Gibraltar becomes a nightmare as they’re relentlessly attacked by rogue orcas. Rebecca, confronting deep emotional wounds, must rise as an unlikely hero in a battle for survival.”
Harlin, who also has The Strangers: Chapter 2 coming this fall, had this to say of Black Tides:
“This film grabs you by the throat and the heart […] I’m going back to the kind of filmmaking I love—intense, physical, and immersive. This one is built for the big screen.”
Producer Adrián Guerra adds:
“We’re going back to what makes thrillers unforgettable—precision filmmaking, real tension, and emotional weight. Every shot is designed to build pressure, every choice anchored in character. Shot in real conditions, this is a physical, immersive experience made for the cinema. It doesn’t just entertain—it holds you in its grip.”
Black Tides is produced by Guerra and Nuria Valls’s Nostromo Pictures (Buried), with The Solution Entertainment Group handling worldwide sales, and Lisa Wilson set to launch the film to buyers at Cannes.
Look out for more on Black Tides as we get it.
