“Sharknado 2” starts filming in February; Ian Ziering and Tara Reid to reprise roles

As if New York City hasn’t seen its share of craziness lately, with snowstorms and the influx of Super Bowl fans and media, the Big Apple will be bitten again soon, when Syfy begins filming its sequel to last year’s social-media hit Sharknado. The network announced that Sharknado 2: The Second One will begin filming in New York on Feb. 13.

Sharknado stars Ian Ziering and Tara Reid (pictured below in a scene from the first movie) will reprise their roles as Fin and April, Syfy also announced. Also returning for Sharknado 2 are director Anthony Ferrante and writer Thunder Levin.

sharknado

Sharknado was an extraordinary ‘perfect storm’ which captured the attention of movie fans across the globe,” said Thomas Vitale, executive vice president of programming and original movies for Syfy, in a release. “You couldn’t go anywhere without hearing about Sharknado! By reassembling the creative team — and dropping sharks onto New York’s iconic sites — we’re unleashing yet another ‘fin’ wave of shark-mania.”

RELATED: SHARKNADO WINS MOST OUTRAGEOUS SYFY MOVIE TITLE IN OUR VIEWERS VOICE AWARDS

Added Paul Bales, COO of The Asylum studio, in the release: “We’re thrilled to be able to bring back the talent that made Sharknado a hit. Can lightning strike twice? I don’t know, but it’s a scientific fact that you’re more likely to be killed by lightning than by a shark. This film will have lightning and sharks, so that’s got to count for something.”

An unusually notable name associated with this sort of project, legendary casting director Mike Fenton and his partner Ann Frederick, of Fenton-Frederick Casting, will supervise cameo casting for Sharknado 2, Syfy and The Asylum said.

UPDATE 2/13/14: Syfy has announced some of the additional Sharknado 2 cast members and cameo appearances. Kelly Osbourne, Judd Hirsch, Andy Dick and Judah Friedlander will cameo, while Vivica A. Fox and Mark McGrath join the main cast. Osbourne will play a flight attendant; Dick will play a New York City police officer; Friedlander will play a character named Brian; Hirsch (of Taxi fame) will play a cab driver named Ben. Fox stars as Skye, an old high-school friend of Fin, and McGrath will play Fin’s brother-in-law.

The plot of the sequel, according to the Syfy release: “In Sharknado 2: The Second One, a freak weather system turns its deadly fury on New York City, unleashing a Sharknado on the population and its most cherished, iconic sites — and only Fin and April can save the Big Apple.”

It’s too bad the screenplay and pre-production were probably completed before the polar vortex struck much of the country, otherwise maybe the plot could have featured a “shark vortex.” But, there’s always Sharknado 3!

Sharknado 2: The Second One is scheduled to premiere on Syfy this July.

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Ian Ziering and Tara Reid in “Sharknado”: © 2013 Syfy Media LLC.