The Best ‘Jaws’ Sequel Is the One That Didn’t Get Made

The Big Picture

• Jaws 2
  was originally a darker, character-focused sequel with a more sinister storyline.
• Universal wanted
  Jaws 2
  to be lighter, rejecting the darker version crafted by Hancock and Tristan.
• The
  Jaws
  sequels faced creative challenges, leading to mixed results and a decline in quality.

The impact Jaws had on the movie industry cannot be understated. Not only did it introduce audiences to director Steven Spielberg, it changed the way movies are made and marketed, and is often credited with starting the summer blockbuster trend. Of course, with such an impactful hit, Universal Studios was eager to dive back into the waters of Amity Island, in hopes of catching lightning in a bottle (or a giant, lucrative fish) twice.

But perhaps with multiple Jaws movies, we were biting off more than we could chew. Jaws 3-D baffled audiences and Jaws: The Revenge is generally considered one of the worst movies ever made. Jaws 2 does have fan approval, often thought of as the only good follow-up to the original, though it is largely a simplified re-hash of what came before it. That being said, an early version of the film took a much darker approach to the story, one that is far more interesting than any of the sequels that were made.

Steven Spielberg’s ‘Jaws’ Had a Rough Production

After the monumental success that was Jaws, it was only a matter of time before Universal greenlit a sequel. The studio had initially reached out to director Steven Spielberg in hopes that he would return for another outing on Amity Island, but he refused. Entertainment Weekly recalls a quote from Spielberg: “I would have done the sequel if I hadn’t had such a horrible time at sea on the first film.” With the original creative’s refusal to return, the studio not only had to find a new director, it had to figure out a new story. For a time, the studio was set on John D. Hancock, who had gained esteem for his work on the 1973 film, Bang the Drum Slowly. According to the New York Times, Hancock was approached by producers to helm the film. Hancock’s wife, Dorothy Tristan, worked on the script and the two crafted a much bleaker Amity Island.

Under the supervision of the Academy Award nominated director, Jaws 2 sought to make a new shark only a part of Amity Island’s problem, with the impact of the first film still plaguing the community. Shady characters, paranoia, and the original cast of teens found their already existing problems only heightened by the terror of the new watery adversary. But after production had already gotten under way, Universal Studios had other ideas that would not only get Hancock’s version waterlogged, but would lead to yet another troubled shark shoot, just when everyone thought it was safe to go back into the cinematic water.

‘Jaws 2’ Was Originally a Much Darker Movie

Hancock and Tristan’s script saw a very different season for the island, its reputation tarnished from the events of 1975. In a video interview with Daily Jaws, Hancock revealed that an even more unhinged Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) is also trying to come to terms with that summer. The character is experiencing nightmares that include that of his own death at the hands of a shark. His son, Mike, and his friend Andy, are bullied by Reese Vaughn, son of infamous Mayor Vaughn (Murray Hamilton). Reese has no respect for anyone outside of himself, and would become something of a local menace, continuing the Broady/Vaughn feud into the next generation.

In continuing the “new generation” tradition, another newcomer would have been a character known as “Sideburns.” The son of USS Indianapolis survivor, Quint (Robert Shaw), has to come to the island to collect his father’s reward for his part in killing the original shark. Meanwhile, a businessman named Boyle comes to town in hopes of buying Quint’s old shack to open up a shark-based tourist trap. Len Petersen, a character who made it into the version that got made (Joseph Mascolo), meanwhile, is a shady developer, looking to take advantage of Amity’s poverty. Other elements included an organized crime storyline (a reference to the original novel), and a greater sense of anxiety for most of the characters.

In this version of the script, Jaws 2 is a much more character-driven piece, but, of course, it’s not Jaws without a shark. This time, the toothy villain is pregnant and nearing birth. Like the finished film, there was a cruising culture among the young people. Mike and Andy find themselves in the shark’s path, and, after the shark acquires quite a body count, it’s up to Brody, Boyle, and Petersen to save the teens. Similar to the first movie, the shark is able to pick off one of the three “heroes,” when Brody and Boyle are knocked overboard, with Boyle becoming the shark’s final victim. The shark itself met a much more grizzly fate this time, with Petersen dropping two engines and turning on the propellors, and churning the shark to death. The day is once again saved (for the time being). Despite the script being an expanded version of the original, however, Universal had a few issues with the script.

The Studio Wanted ‘Jaws 2’ To Be a Lighter Movie

At their best, sequels expand on the world and characters that made the original great. At their worst, they completely miss the point of what made the first film so fantastic to begin with. In the case of Jaws 2, Universal wanted something more like the original and lighter than what Hancock and Tristan’s version offered, according to the Daily Jaws. This wasn’t the first concept for the film that had been rejected. The Making of Jaws 2 documentary, available to view on the sequel’s DVD, recalls that Sackler had originally pitched the sequel as a prequel, and would have focused on Quint’s time aboard the Indianapolis. Jaws producer, David Brown, said that the film was “Too far from the mothership.”

Ultimately, Universal felt the same about Hancock and Tristan’s version. The Sarasota Journal says that Hancock was removed as director after only a month of shooting due to his differences with the studio. However, some of his fingerprints can still be seen in the finished film, in particular a shot often considered one of the picture’s best. The iconic and eerie arrival of the shark to Amity was the work of Hancock. On a dark, uneasy evening, the boats in the harbor sway as the shark passes beneath them, its dorsal fin rising from the depths as it closes in on the unsuspecting island. The shot is indeed frightening and is a small glimpse into the world that would have been Hancock’s Jaws 2.

The ‘Jaws’ Sequels Have Always Been in Choppy Waters

This would not be the last time Universal changed the fate of a Jaws film. Producers Brown and Richard D. Zanuck had initially pitched the third entry into the series as a parody written by John Hughes called Jaws 3, People 0. Universal, however, felt such an outing would “Foul the nest,” according to Brown in the Jaws 2 documentary. Reflecting upon Jaws 3-D (in which neither Brown nor Zanuck were involved), Brown said: “We should have fouled the nest.” The franchise would only survive on for one more film, Jaws: The Revenge. A financial and critical failure, the film currently holds a 0% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In a sort of victory, however, Hancock and Tristan’s version lived on in the novelization by Hank Searls. The book was more influenced by that earlier version, including many of the more character-based elements.

A success at the box office and with most fans, Jaws 2 encouraged Universal to continue the franchise, even though it would eventually drown with fans and critics alike. The version conceived by Hancock and Tristan, however, was a much more involved and dark film, focusing greatly on the characters both familiar and new, and expanding the world of Jaws in a different and more sinister way. Ultimately, Universal sought something more akin to a lighter version of the original. Though it was mainly a rehash of what came before, the legacy of Amity Island and the sharks that stalk it live on in the minds of movie goers whenever they step into the water.

Jaws 2 is available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.

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