This article is part of ScreenRant‘s Exclusive 2025 Summer Movie Preview. Keep an eye out for the full feature next week!
A new image from Dangerous Animals showcases Jai Courtney’s terrifying character in the 2025 shark thriller. The upcoming Australian movie features the Suicide Squad star as Tucker, a serial killer who kidnaps young surfer Zephyr (Yellowstone‘s Hassie Harrison) with designs on feeding her to sharks. It was directed by Sean Byrne (The Loved Ones, The Devil’s Candy) from a screenplay by Nick Lepard (Keeper) and also stars Josh Heuston (Heartbreak High, Thor: Love and Thunder) and Ella Newton (Girl at the Window, Neighbours).
ScreenRant can now share an exclusive first-look image from Dangerous Animals ahead of its United States theatrical release date on June 6. The image shows Tucker wearing nothing but red underwear and an open robe that exposes his torso, which bears a scar from what appears to be a shark bite. He is also holding a bottle of wine and appears to be dancing in the dining area of a ship. See the full-size image below:
ScreenRant can also share an exclusive comment on the movie from Sean Byrne, who details the fact that Dangerous Animals was inspired by Steven Spielberg’s 1975 hit Jaws in multiple ways, including its focus on characters and the fact that it was actually “shot on the ocean for a genuine sense of danger.” He also praises Courtney’s performance as the movie’s “wildly charismatic villain” who will be as compelling as he is terrifying. Read Byrne’s full quote below:
DANGEROUS ANIMALS was inspired by the greatest shark film of them all. Like JAWS, it’s character-driven; shot on the ocean for a genuine sense of danger a tank can’t replicate; and – although there are several sharks in the movie – it thrives on the pure suspense of a fin circling then knifing under the water, with victim and audience alike just waiting for the moment of attack.
The irony is, the sharks aren’t the deadliest threat; Captain Tucker is. In Jai’s performance, the audience can expect a wildly charismatic villain they’ll love to hate, who’ll terrify them whenever he’s on screen, but yet they can’t wait for him to reappear. In short, one of those rare movie villains that stands the test of time.
What This Means For Dangerous Animals
There Is More Than Just Jaws In Its DNA
As the image and Byrne’s quote reveal, Dangerous Animals indeed seems to take many of its cues from Jaws and the many killer shark movies that arose in its wake, including Open Water, Bait, and 47 Meters Down, as well as other animal attack stories such as the alligator movie Crawl. Clearly, its Jaws influence extends far beyond the sharks that are central to its premise, as Tucker’s scar both calls back to the scene in the 1975 movie when the characters compared their scars and the fact that hunter Quint (Robert Shaw) has personal experience with shark attacks.
Jaws was a generation-defining hit that grossed $476.5 million against its $9 million budget and is generally credited as the first summer blockbuster.
However, this image also seems to reveal that the movie draws inspiration from other sources, particularly the iconic 1989 Australian thriller Dead Calm. That movie followed grieving couple John (Sam Neill) and Rae Ingram (Nicole Kidman) departing on a yacht trip, only for their boat to be commandeered by Hughie Warriner (Billy Zane), who leaves John stranded on a sinking ship. Although sharks have been added to the equation, this glimpse at Tucker’s exultation makes it seem that Dangerous Animals will have several scenes that take after Rae’s struggle to survive the unpredictable villain out on the open water.
Our Take On The New Dangerous Animals Image
Jai Courtney Could Make A Superb Villain
While Jai Courtney has portrayed villains before, he has usually played secondary antagonists or antiheroes in projects such as Suicide Squad (in which he played Captain Boomerang opposite more prominent characters such as Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Jared Leto’s Joker) and Netflix’s Kaleidoscope (in which he played Bob, the hotheaded member of the show’s heist team). From the looks of things, Dangerous Animals has given him license to craft a truly unforgettable villain with a sickly charisma after cutting his teeth on these supporting roles, making Zephyr’s struggle to survive seem even more challenging.
Dangerous Animals
- Release 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