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'The Meg' spoilers! Rainn Wilson explains how the bloody ending could have been way worse

Spoiler alert! We're discussing the ending of "The Meg." If you haven't seen it yet, don't want to know, just ate lunch or are a fan of "The Office," STOP READING NOW. 

"The Meg" unleashed a prehistoric megalodon shark that tallied up an impressively bloody death count before action hero Jason Statham killed it.

Rainn Wilson's Jack Morris is a brash billionaire who just begs for a glorious shark attack in "The Meg."

Thankfully, one of the victims was Rainn Wilson's obnoxious billionaire tech entrepreneur and sea exploration investor Jack Morris, whose spectacular death pleased even Wilson.

"I hope that mine is up there among the greatest shark deaths of all time," Wilson says. "If you don’t get eaten in a shark movie, there’s a possibility you’re in the sequel. But if you do get eaten, well, what a way to go."

Related:Jason Statham explains how he handles real sharks and dirty diapers

More:5 favorite, outrageous shark-movie moments in honor of 'The Meg'

In "The Meg," Morris stealthily heads to sea in the dark of night with a mercenary force to kill off the giant prehistoric super-shark that is threatening his major underwater exploration investment.

The megalodon goes after another victim in "The Meg."

It appears that explosives dropped in the water kill the beast, which floats to the surface. But when Morris sends one of the guys to extract its teeth as a hunting trophy, they realize the carcass is actually a dead whale – and the real meg is coming at them.

As they speed away, Morris falls from the boat. He panic-swims to the floating whale to get out of the water, but the shark takes a big bite, circles back and swallows Morris entirely.

"I’m not scared of being eaten by a shark because it would be an amazing way to go," Wilson says. "I’m 52 right now. I’m ready to meet my maker. I've had a good run, especially if it (involves) being eaten by a shark."

More:The top 10 killer shark movies, definitively ranked (from 'Jaws' to 'The Meg')

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His death could have been much worse. In the original cut of the film, the shark had bitten off the entire bottom half of Morris in the first nibble before going in for big bite No. 2 – the upper half.

Director Jon Turteltaub reluctantly trimmed the gory shot to keep "The Meg" from receiving an R rating.

Rainn Wilson (as Morris) and Page Kennedy (as DJ) are in awe of the shark's killing power in "The Meg."

"The camera had craned up to show that it's only Morris' head, shoulders and arms left. It’s just the top third of Rainn Wilson," Turteltaub says. "And it was freaking awesome."

Wilson didn't even know that the scene had been cut back.

"Really? The cut I saw, I was in half," Wilson says. "I’m disappointed. Especially since I’m finding it out from a USA TODAY reporter. But I guess they couldn't show half a corpse hanging from a bloody whale. Maybe it will be on the DVD."

He does have memories of shooting the scene aboard a 50-foot plastic foam whale dressed with blood, guts and blubber.

"They would spray it down with more blood and gore," he says. "They had this one area with hand holds built into the blubber, so I could pull myself up."

Jason Statham faces off against a giant shark foe in "The Meg."

Hero Jonas Taylor (Statham) ultimately did in the killer shark, running his submarine across the creature's massive midsection to cut it open. As blood spews out, it attracts shivers of hungry sharks that rip the meg to death in a feeding frenzy.

Turteltaub insists the creature is finished.

"Well, this one is dead," he says. "But if the movie does well, then, Lord, there’s never one of any animal. You’ll see megs everywhere if this thing grosses over $100 million."

 

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