A scene from  The Meg. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Turteltaub echoes his views. "No one knows what lies beneath the oceans. As humans, we feel the need to explore them."

"What fascinated me was not that the characters in the movie are seeing a prehistoric creature for the first time, it's that this poor prehistoric creature is seeing them. It doesn't know who we are and what human beings are," adds Turteltaub, whose previous directing credits include Cool Runnings and the National Treasure series.

The movie also aims to raise public awareness of environmental issues and re-examine the relationship between nature and humankind.

"It's somewhat of a sad subject that we are destroying the planet. Two-thirds of the animals in the world's jungles have disappeared during the last 50 years. I think people don't respect nature," Turteltaub says.