Deep Blue Sea 3 has a fun nod to Samuel L. Jackson's infamous death scene from the 1999 original. While Jaws will always reign supreme when it comes to lists of great shark movies, Deep Blue Sea holds a place in the hearts of fans of the subgenre. That said, there aren't a lot of genuinely great shark movies to be found. Jaws 2 is well-regarded but pales next to Steven Spielberg's original while 2018's The Meg is a little too goofy for its own good. The Shallows, starring Blake Lively, did receive good reviews and unlike many recent efforts in the genre, took the suspense seriously.
1999's Deep Blue Sea movie involved a team of scientists whose experiments into finding a cure for Alzheimer's involves enlarging the brains of their shark test subjects. This has the side effect of making the sharks themselves hyperintelligent, and after crippling the underwater lab, they set about hunting down the scientists while engineering their escape into the open ocean. Deep Blue Sea plays into its b-movie tone, and while it has some intense action sequences and deaths, it has a tongue-in-cheek element to it too.
Deep Blue Sea was a decent-sized hit, but fondness for it has only grown over time. Despite this, it took nearly 20 years for Deep Blue Sea 2 to arrive, which ended up going straight to DVD in 2018 and received universally terrible reviews. Deep Blue Sea 3 arrived to a warmer reception in 2020 to complete the trilogy. The story again involves a team of scientists who run afoul of some intelligent bull sharks and features a shocking demise of a major character that's clearly an homage to Samuel L. Jackson's death in Deep Blue Sea.
For context, Samuel L. Jackson played a businessman funding the research team in Deep Blue Sea and was the biggest actor in the cast. Around the midway point of the story, when the lab is sinking and morale among the survivors is low, Jackson's Russell gives an impassioned, cheesy speech to boost their spirits - only for a giant shark to suddenly emerge from a nearby pool and snatch him into the water for a gory demise. This moment is shocking and hilarious in equal measure, and Deep Blue Sea 3 homages Samuel L. Jackson's Deep Blue Sea death with the character of Dr. Richard Lowell (Nathaniel Buzolic, The Originals), who also meets an unexpected end.
Richard is a major character in Deep Blue Sea 3 and the love interest of Tania Raymonde's hero Dr. Emma Collins. After the human villain gives Richard the choice of joining his side, Richard says he'd rather die with Emma and dives off the boat to join her and her team. Before he hits the water, a shark jumps out, grabs him in its mouth and pulls him under. Deep Blue Sea 3 may lack the budget and gloss of bigger movies, but this is an expertly timed jump scare that, just like Samuel L. Jackson's Deep Blue Sea demise, elicits both gasps and laughter.