It was directed and co-edited by Joe Dante and starred Bradford Dillman, Heather Menzies, Kevin McCarthy, Keenan Wynn, Barbara Steele, and Dick Miller.
Produced by Roger Corman, Piranha was inspired by the 1975 film Jaws, which had been a major success for distributor Universal Studios and director Steven Spielberg.
However, he escapes, and soon they learn that the man is Dr. Robert Hoak, who, for military purposes, is researching a hybrid species of piranha that is capable of surviving in fresh and sea waters.
In April 1994, rights holder Chako van Leeuwen announced the revival of her film company, Chako Film International, to produce Spirit (later released as Raging Angels with Sean Patrick Flanery and Diane Ladd) and Piranha III to be backed by United Artists.
Piranha 3-D: The Invisible Menace was announced in April 2007 to be produced by Ovidio G. Assonitis and his production company KOA Films Entertainment.
[4] In February 2008, it was announced that Alexandre Aja's remake would be produced in 3D and Piranha 3-D: The Invisible Menace was dropped from KOA Films Entertainment's production slate.
It was directed by Alexandre Aja and sports an ensemble cast featuring Steven R. McQueen, Jessica Szohr, Jerry O'Connell, Richard Dreyfuss, Christopher Lloyd, Elisabeth Shue, Adam Scott, Kelly Brook, Riley Steele, Ving Rhames and Eli Roth.