This text is a part of ScreenRant’s Unique 2025 Summer time Film Preview. Maintain a watch out for the total function subsequent week!

A brand new picture from Harmful Animals showcases Jai Courtney’s terrifying character within the 2025 shark thriller. The upcoming Australian film options the Suicide Squad star as Tucker, a serial killer who kidnaps younger surfer Zephyr (Yellowstone’s Hassie Harrison) with designs on feeding her to sharks. It was directed by Sean Byrne (The Beloved Ones, The Satan’s Sweet) from a screenplay by Nick Lepard (Keeper) and likewise stars Josh Heuston (Heartbreak Excessive, Thor: Love and Thunder) and Ella Newton (Woman on the Window, Neighbours).

ScreenRant can now share an unique first-look picture from Harmful Animals forward of its United States theatrical launch date on June 6. The picture exhibits Tucker carrying nothing however crimson underwear and an open gown that exposes his torso, which bears a scar from what seems to be a shark chew. He’s additionally holding a bottle of wine and seems to be dancing within the eating space of a ship. See the full-size picture under:

ScreenRant may also share an unique touch upon the film from Sean Byrne, who particulars the truth that Harmful Animals was impressed by Steven Spielberg’s 1975 hit Jaws in a number of methods, together with its deal with characters and the truth that it was truly “shot on the ocean for a genuine sense of danger.” He additionally praises Courtney’s efficiency because the film’s “wildly charismatic villain” who can be as compelling as he’s terrifying. Learn Byrne’s full quote under:

DANGEROUS ANIMALS was impressed by the best shark movie of all of them. Like JAWS, it’s character-driven; shot on the ocean for a real sense of hazard a tank can’t replicate; and – though there are a number of sharks within the film – it thrives on the pure suspense of a fin circling then knifing beneath the water, with sufferer and viewers alike simply ready for the second of assault.

The irony is, the sharks aren’t the deadliest risk; Captain Tucker is. In Jai’s efficiency, the viewers can anticipate a wildly charismatic villain they’ll like to hate, who’ll terrify them at any time when he’s on display, however but they will’t watch for him to reappear. Briefly, a kind of uncommon film villains that stands the take a look at of time.

What This Means For Harmful Animals

There Is Extra Than Simply Jaws In Its DNA

Because the picture and Byrne’s quote reveal, Harmful Animals certainly appears to take lots of its cues from Jaws and the various killer shark motion pictures that arose in its wake, together with Open Water, Bait, and 47 Meters Down, in addition to different animal assault tales such because the alligator film Crawl. Clearly, its Jaws affect extends far past the sharks which might be central to its premise, as Tucker’s scar each calls again to the scene within the 1975 film when the characters in contrast their scars and the truth that hunter Quint (Robert Shaw) has private expertise with shark assaults.

Jaws was a generation-defining hit that grossed $476.5 million in opposition to its $9 million finances and is mostly credited as the primary summer time blockbuster.

Nonetheless, this picture additionally appears to disclose that the film attracts inspiration from different sources, significantly the enduring 1989 Australian thriller Useless Calm. That film adopted grieving couple John (Sam Neill) and Rae Ingram (Nicole Kidman) departing on a yacht journey, just for their boat to be commandeered by Hughie Warriner (Billy Zane), who leaves John stranded on a sinking ship. Though sharks have been added to the equation, this glimpse at Tucker’s exultation makes it appear that Harmful Animals may have a number of scenes that take after Rae’s battle to outlive the unpredictable villain out on the open water.

Our Take On The New Harmful Animals Picture

Jai Courtney Might Make A Excellent Villain

Whereas Jai Courtney has portrayed villains earlier than, he has often performed secondary antagonists or antiheroes in tasks akin to Suicide Squad (wherein he performed Captain Boomerang reverse extra distinguished characters akin to Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Jared Leto’s Joker) and Netflix’s Kaleidoscope (wherein he performed Bob, the hotheaded member of the present’s heist group). From the appears to be like of issues, Harmful Animals has given him license to craft a very unforgettable villain with a sickly charisma after chopping his tooth on these supporting roles, making Zephyr’s battle to outlive appear much more difficult.

Harmful Animals

Launch Date

June 5, 2025

Runtime

93 minutes

Director

Sean Byrne

Writers

Nick Lepard

Producers

Andrew Mason, Mickey Liddell, Chris Ferguson, Fred Berger, Marlaina Mah, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Troy Lum, Pete Shilaimon