Summer blockbuster ‘The Meg’ has a deep Delaware connection

Giant shark movie The Meg made an impressive $141.5 million worldwide in its opening weekend, defying predictions that the American-Chinese monster movie with a $200 million budget was destined to flop.

But whether you’re into 70-foot monsters terrorizing beaches (who isn’t?), CGI and Jason Statham or not, The Meg gives us a new Delaware fun fact: That summer blockbuster was based on a novel written by a University of Delaware alum.

UDaily caught up with Northeast Philadelphia native Steve Alten (class of 1984), an ardent Eagles fan whose first book MEG: A Novel of Deep Terror would become a series, and, eventually, The Meg.

“I think it’s going to be the movie of the year, I honest-to-god do,” Alten said in an interview with UDaily’s Eric Ruth. “There’s been a buzz about this book for 20 years.”

Judging from its opening weekend, it just might be.