The story centres on two men battling a prehistoric Megalodon shark off the coast of California, although reports suggest the film version will shift the location to China.

The project was first put into development in 1997 by executives at Disney, but they were unable to get the film into production before shark film the Deep Blue Sea hit theatres, and the project was subsequently shelved.

The film will now be developed through Warner Bros., according to Variety.com.

The news comes weeks after Roth's film The Green Inferno was given a release date a year after its original debut in September (14) was scrapped over financing issues. The rainforest thriller features Roth's new wife Lorenza Izzo.