Film director Besson chooses Malta for underwater action thriller

Hollywood director Luc Besson’s new action thriller ‘The Lake’ is set to start filming in Malta very soon, after producers spent the past months building extensive sets in Malta.

The American-French thriller features Sullivan Stapleton (300: Rise of an Empire) and also Oscar winner J.K. Simmons (Whiplash).

Besson directed action thriller ‘Lucy’ in 2014, and has teamed up with director Steven Quale for their new film.

Besson is producing through his Europa Corp production banner, and the project is said to be one of the most expensive projects they’ve taken on to date. Sources said he will spend up to €10 million in Malta alone where work is underway at the Rinella film studios now run by the government.

J.K. Simmons, fresh off his Oscar win for Whiplash, joined the supporting cast of the film which follows a group of Navy SEALs who attempt to solve an age-old mystery involving a treasure underneath a lake in war-torn Serbia.

Simmons will be taking the smaller role of the Rear Admiral. The SEAL team will be played by Sullivan Stapleton, Charlie Bewley (Like Crazy) and Diarmaid Murtagh (Sons of Liberty).

The film is said to require a lot of underwater work and scuba training, which Quale is actually pretty skilled at having worked with James Cameron on films like Titanic and The Abyss.