THE WALKING DEAD FINAL SEASON HOPEFULLY MEANS MORE JAWS EASTER EGGS

The Walking Dead is back, for one last series, and as well as wrapping up loose ends and fitting farewells - in between zombie stomping action aplenty - we hope that leaves some room for some fresh Jaws references for the eagle-eyed.

Greg Nicotero, special effects legend, as well as an executive producer and director on the show, is a huge Jaws fan, so echoes of Amity Island have washed up on set before.

Greg told The Daily Jaws creator Ross:

“I feel like every opportunity I have to pay tribute to a movie that meant something to me, that guided my career or inspired me is an opportunity to say thank you to these amazing filmmakers.”

”The Walking Dead is giving me an amazing opportunity to pay tribute to everything Zombie and I tend to skew towards the George Romero universe that I grew up in because that’s where the zombie genre was invented and created. I’ve re-created moments from almost every classic zombie movie and also in the meantime have had an opportunity to put a few Easter eggs in there based on a few of my favorite Steven Spielberg films.”

There are multiple JAWS references in The Walking Dead. In season 5 episode 16, Daryl and Aaron were trapped in a car surrounded by walkers and the license plate that we used was a replica of the license plate that Hooper had taken out of the tiger shark. in the premiere episode of season 10, I had used castings from the original molds of the shark teeth to pay tribute to Bruce while Judith finds a whisper mask in the sand.

And who could forget that Ben Gardner’s head made a cameo appearance in the Governor’s fish tanks in season 3.”

Greg at London’s Walker Stalker convention with Ross, founder of The Daily Jaws.

Ben Gardner's head

And one of those includes a cleverly hidden Ben Gardner's head. It's one of the classic jump scare scenes in all of cinema when his head emerges from a hole in his boat, giving Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) the fright of his life. Ben's head pops up in season three's fifth episode, when we get a look at the Governor's macabre collection of heads. Ben was made to feel at home though, as they were all submerged in fish tanks.

Jaws licence plate

This other Jaws icon makes an appearance in season five's finale, when Daryl and Aaron on a scavenger hunt that has gone wrong. When hunting for supplies, Aaron starts pulling licence plates off cars, as he collects them.

One such plate is a replica of the license plate pulled from the tiger shark that Hooper and Chief Brody cut open at night. That replica car license plate certainly does the rounds, as it also appeared in Deep Blue Sea: Deep Blue Sea And Jaws: Bonded By Blood

Nicotero said: "We got a replica of the license plate from Jaws that they cut out of the shark and put it on one of the cars. I always put little things in there for myself just kind of for fun.”

Yellow Barrel

The Jaws references were back in the season 10 opener, that was also directed by Nicotero and took place on a beach. In the background you may have noticed a familiar looking yellow barrel or two, like Quint's from the Orca - unless they were the planters from outside the Brody house in Jaws 2?

This final series of The Walking Dead has 24 episodes split, and will be screened in three eight-episode blocks. The final block of episodes, including the hotly anticipated series finale, will air sometime in 2022.

Speaking to Fangoria ahead of the final season's premiere, Gerg Nicotero, said: "The first couple episodes I’ve seen, they’re really good. They’re exciting, innovative, different, character-driven. We’re really trying to give our loyal audience something to sink their teeth into - pun intended.”

So, how will it all end? We think The Walking Dead will fully embrace its love of Jaws and have Rick Grimes turn up as the new Chief of Police at Amity, with him having to battle an undead great white shark. Probably.

Greg Nictero’s incredible Jaws shark recreation being installed at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles

Talking of sharks, Greg hasn't just been orchestrating the return of dead people, he has also been bringing Bruce the shark from Jaws, back from the dead. And you don't get much deader than being dumped in the scrap yard.

Now, fully restored, complete with Hollywood smile, Bruce is set to be pride of place when the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opens in LA at the end of September 2021: Bruce The Shark From Jaws Finds New Home At The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

Words by Dean Newman

If you would like to contribute a guest blog, please visit our ‘work with us’ page