Could new shark film be the closest we get to Spielberg's abandoned JAWS prequel?
What if Saving Private Ryan met JAWS? That’s the exciting prospect in upcoming shark ‘survival action thriller’ Beast Of War, which is set during World War 2 and follows a group of Australian soldiers after their warship has sunk, and their battle for survival against a great white shark.
It's hard to not think of that premise and think of the haunting USS Indianapolis speech as delivered by Quint (Robert Shaw) in JAWS, and it is that speech that almost formed a prequel to the classic shark film, with an idea that originated with Steven Spielberg back in the directing chair.
That speech was not in Peter Benchley’s source novel, the tale of the sinking of USS Indianapolis and subsequent fatal shark encounters, was added to the movie adaptation of JAWS as director Steven Spielberg felt Quint needed a reason to hate sharks.
Introduced to Spielberg by uncredited screen writer Howard Sackler, the speech was written, re-written and then re-re-written by Shaw himself with the resulting performance being described as a '“showstopper” by fellow cast member Richard Dreyfuss and is Spielberg’s favourite moment in the movie.
When approached to make ‘JAWS 2’, Spielberg reportedly felt at the time that sequels were a “cheap carny trick” however he might be tempted back by re-telliing the story of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, told through the eyes of Quint’s experience.
This newly announced film isn’t that, but with a TV movie – The Mission of the Shark – and film – USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage – we’ve already seen the true-life story of the USS Indianapolis story brought to the screen, giving us a flavour of what may be to come with Beast Of War.
The synopsis for the latest shark film – as seen on Film Stories – is as follows:
1942. A warship carries hundreds of Australian soldiers across the Timor Sea to the frontline of WW2. Suddenly, Japanese fighter jets scream out of the sky, and within minutes the ocean becomes a hell of steel, fire, oil, and blood. With the vessel destroyed, a handful of soldiers build a makeshift raft from floating debris as they cling to their lives. Tensions run high between the hot-headed and terrified young men, as they band together to survive. But their biggest battle is yet to come. In the dark below, a great white shark hunts in the wreckage and is drawn to the smell of fresh blood in the water.
It is said though that the film will also share something else with JAWS, and that is a practical shark. So even if the synopsis doesn’t float your boat, then perhaps seeing a practical great white shark looming out of the water will captivate us just like it did back in the summer of 1975?
Deadline reports that those practical effects will sit with CreatureNFX, who are an Australian effect studio and previously worked on Alien: Covenant. That all sounds very exciting, but don’t get too excited and start thrashing in the water, it may attract a mechanical great white shark for a new generation.
Dean Newman, Head of Content at The Daily Jaws, said: “It’s great that almost 50 years after JAWS that we’ll be getting the next generation of mechanical great white sharks and years of CGI sharks, the filmmakers have clearly seen and heard that practical effects are what shark film fans love, and that love is traced directly back to JAWS.”
Are you excited about this new shark film, with the added bonus of a practical great white shark? Let us know your views in the comments.
Words by Dean Newman
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