Veteran genre filmmaker Renny Harlin (Deep Blue Sea) is diving back into deadly waters with his latest shark thriller, Deep Water. The upcoming survival horror film has officially received its rating from the Motion Picture Association this week.

Deep Water has been rated R for “violent content/bloody images and some language,” signaling plenty of brutal shark carnage when it hits theaters.

The film will be released in theaters on May 1 by Magenta Light Studios.

Cast of Deep Water

The survival thriller features a stacked cast including Aaron Eckhart, Ben Kingsley, Molly Wright (The Best Christmas Pageant Ever), Angus Sampson (Insidious), Kelly Gale (Plane), and Li Wenhan from the K-Pop group UNIQ.

What is Deep Water about?

In Deep Water, a commercial flight traveling from Los Angeles to Shanghai crashes into the middle of the Pacific Ocean. While a handful of passengers survive the disaster, their nightmare is far from over. Stranded in open water inside the sinking wreckage, the survivors soon realize they’re surrounded by sharks.

With predators circling and time running out, the terrified group must set aside their differences and work together if they want any chance of escaping both the wreckage and the feeding frenzy below.

The screenplay was written by Pete Bridges and the writing team of Shayne Armstrong and SP Krause.

Harlin recently described the project as a love letter to classic disaster films:

“Deep Water represents the kind of movie I’ve dreamed of making since I grew up loving the ’70s disaster movies—spectacular action and unforgettable characters.”

Renny Harlin’s Horror Legacy

For horror fans, Harlin’s name is already tied to some iconic genre entries. In addition to Deep Blue Sea, his horror résumé includes Prison, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, and The Exorcist: The Beginning. More recently, he directed the new trilogy of The Strangers films.

What’s Next: Killer Orcas

Harlin isn’t done with aquatic horror either. His next project, Black Tides, swaps sharks for killer whales.

The film will star John Travolta and Melissa Barrera and follows an estranged father attempting to reconnect with his daughter and grandson during a sailing trip off the southern coast of Spain—until a group of rogue orcas attacks their boat, triggering a desperate fight for survival at sea.

For now, Deep Water will bring the terror first when it arrives in theaters May 1.

Watch the teaser trailer above.