Back in 1999, action master Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger) released Deep Blue Sea, a pop-tastic riff on the killer shark flick, with the tasty caveat here being that the trio of monstrous sea beasts have actually been genetically engineered to a state of terrifying intelligence by a group of scientists searching for a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease. Starring Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, Jacqueline McKenzie, Stellan Skarsgard and Samuel L. Jackson, Deep Blue Sea was an average-level success, but it’s since built a small but passionate core group of fans.
This group of fans is so committed, in fact, that they’ve banded together – a la the recently Barbie-mocked supporters of Zack Snyder’s Justice League – to force a little change in the legacy of their much-loved underwater action flick. Though unbeknownst to most casual viewers, Deep Blue Sea has an alternate, unreleased ending in which the doomed Dr. Susan McAlester (played by Saffron Burrows) actually survives the horrific acts of the film…and the film’s fans would like to see it! So much so, in fact, that they’ve kickstarted a petition (which you can see by clicking right here) requesting that Deep Blue Sea’s studio backer, Warner Bros, release the unseen footage.
The film’s star, Thomas Jane, has thrown his support behind the concept, and director Renny Harlin has even made a financial contribution to give the campaign some legs. It might seem like a longshot, but as the release of Zack Snyder’s very, very long cut of Justice League amply proved, Warner Bros certainly has the ability and wherewithal to listen to disenfranchised fans. Surely, the least they could do is release just the ending online somewhere? Or even better, allow Renny Harlin a little rejigging for a streaming release? Come on, Warner Bros…let Dr. Susan McAlester live!
Click here for the Deep Blue Sea petition.
