JAWS FLAWS: Why There Should Never Be A Jaws Remake
Sigh. Rumours have been circling (yet again) about a Jaws remake. It's not going to surface - certainly whilst Steven Spielberg is still with us - but it is the sort of clickbait 'news' that certainly gets the Jaws fan waters churning and more panicked than the beaches of Amity Island.
To paraphrase Matt Hooper when he is talking to Mayor Vaughn outside the 'Amity Island welcomes you' sign, Jaws is a miracle of evolution. An evolution of accidents, that in turn would give us the film we know and love today.
We'd be shown too much shark
We all know the stories of how Bruce the animatronic shark had his issues when it came to working in the salt water off Martha's Vineyard, a predicament that saw the young Steven Spielberg - helming only his second feature - having to find other ways to suggest the shark. Something which would prove to be the film's masterstroke.
We only see the shark for four minutes screentime, the rest it represented by pov shots, yellow barrels, the masterful Oscar-winning editing by Verna Fields or the epic John Williams score. Today, we'd get more shark, and all CGI.
In fact, Matt Hooper himself, Richard Dreyfuss, even suggested the practical shark should get a CG makeover. Nope. Spruce Bruce up with CGI says Dreyfuss
How do you replace the perfect cast?
The simple answer is, you don't. A mix of weather and THAT uncooperative shark meant the filming schedule almost tripled, all of which gave time for the main cast of Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss to bond and become their characters. They had more line readings and rehearsals, even creating the "You're gonna need a bigger boat" line. Coined by Scheider, but not adlibbed as thought by many.
Although the main three parts may have almost been played by other actors, their roles are so ingrained it is difficult to think just who would fill their shoes.
In fact it isn't just the main cast, pretty much everyone in Jaws is iconic, from Mayor Vaughn to Deputy Hendricks and even the likes of Mrs Taft and Bad Hat Harry.
The Jaws story would have to be different
Even Jaws author Peter Benchley said that if Jaws were written today, it would be a very different beast, as we know so much more about sharks than we did back in the mid 1970s.
And, let's not forget that Great White sharks are now a protected species. The same story just wouldn't work today.
The Meg (2015) went bigger on shark but smaller on character and story.
Lightning never strikes twice
Try as they might, even the Jaws sequels could not match the power and box office clout of the original. And no shark film has come close ever since, that's some legacy. Jaws is still the apex predator of shark films, casting a long shadow on the shape of a killer shark over any shark film that is released.
It was the mishaps that made Jaws a monster success as much as it was its planning, it's hard to think that if Jaws had been made as originally planned, or released during Christmas 1974 in the US, if it would have enjoyed as much success as it eventually did.
As Hooper said, it really is a miracle of evolution.
A Jaws remake would be a fools errand, but let's play devil's advocate and say it has been green-lit. What would it look it?
Universal must still be smarting from the 1998 shot for shot remake of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, but if that can remade then surely nothing is ever truly off the remake table. Fact is, there would be very little point in a shot for shot remake of Jaws. For a film from 1975 it still has a very contemporary feel.
Others have suggested a remake based more closely on the original Peter Benchley book, that certainly would be a very different film. We write about that prospect in more detail here: The head, the tail, the whole damn The Thing remake - and what it could mean for Jaws
If, and it is a big if, Jaws did go down the remake road, would we still see it? Yes, but that doesn't mean it would ever replace the original. In a world where we have several adaptations of Dracula, The Hound of the Baskervilles, King Kong and Godzilla, all can exist and be enjoyed on their own or together. One doesn't cancel out the other.
And not very well-received remakes of The Omen, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Poltergeist didn't stop the originals being any less loved or respected. If anything, their prominence and classic status was only cemented.
Jaws is already a recognised brand, and with the likes of the Marvel universe, Star Wars and Universal's own Fast and the Furious and Jurassic Park series, we know that the familiar sells.
And it isn't as if a remake of Jaws or a Jaws 5 with an older Matt Hooper or Jaws prequel with Quint could be any worse than how many Jaws fans feel about Jaws 3D or Jaws the Revenge.
Shark movies are still hugely popular with both studios and viewers, you've only got to check out the slate of shark films set to be released in 2021 and 2022 to see that: Shark Movies Coming In 2021
If nothing else, more people would be introduced to the original Jaws and the making of a screen legend, and that can only ever be a good thing.
And, who knows, it could mean a new Jaws Ride. Universal have just revamped the Jurassic Park ride with the Jurassic World one, and even have a new velociraptor rollercoaster - the velocicoaster - opening. Life, uh, finds a way. And so might Universal when it comes to bringing back Jaws.
Words by Dean Newman
If you would like to write for The Daily Jaws, please visit our ‘work with us’ page