'Sharknado' Will Be a Trilogy as SyFy Orders Third Film

The movie you never knew you needed that spawned the sequel you never knew you needed is about to make a trilogy that you really, actually never needed.

SyFy has ordered up a third "Sharknado" movie, even before the second movie in the series has aired. The first "Sharknado" film premiered on the cable network last summer and made a big splash—pun not intended—by spreading the word over social media.

The network made plans for "Sharknado 2: The Second One" after seeing the success of the first. The premiere of the first "Sharknado" was met with middling ratings, but subsequent showings led to more than eight million total viewers, largely thanks to Twitter. The movie even earned some screenings at local movie theaters due to the cult popularity.

However, ordering a third movie is a risky move for the network. It is yet to be seen how well "Sharknado 2" will perform...will fans still be on board, or has the initial "you have to see this" effect over the ridiculous premise worn off? There's also the question of how the "Sharknado" team can keep things fresh, as opposed to simply putting sharknadoes in different locations and hoping that people still tune in.

It should be noted that SyFy president Dave Howe has mentioned that he hopes to scale back on the B-movies in the future for the network, shifting focus away from flicks like "Sharknado" and "Arachnoquake" and toward original series like the network's relatively successful "Warehouse 13," "Being Human" and newcomer "Helix."

For now, though, expect many more flying sharks attacking helicopters over the next couple of years.