A blimp in the shape of a killer shark

Peter Benchley the author of Jaws had a cameo in the Steven Spielberg shark film of the same name, in it he played a newscaster reporting from the beaches of Amity Island where he famously talked about “a cloud in the shape of a killer shark.” And now Discovery and Shark Week have gone and upped the ante, the blimp in the shape of a great white.

It is all a rather fitting promotion for the yearly shark celebration as back in 1996 Benchley was the first host of Shark Week, so this airborne promotion above US skies can’t help but evoke those lines from the 1975 shark classic.

And plenty of people have been spotting that ship in the sky and posting it all over social media. You can just imagine all the colour draining out of Mayor Vaughn’s face – and his jackets – if he saw that heading towards him whilst stood on the beaches of Amity Island.

Not that Quint would have any trouble taking it on as Quint actor Robert Shaw helped take down a blimp as part of a foiled terrorist attack plot on the Super Bowl in the Thomas Harris-penned thriller Black Sunday (1978).

And The Daily Jaws are no strangers to Shark Week either, having appeared on the show talking about the legacy of Jaws and the fan-made Jaws WeMake that was created in Jaws fan’s backyards (in Amity we say yahd) during Covid lockdown.

Dean Newman, head of content at The Daily Jaws, said: "It was a real honour to be following in the footsteps of Peter Benchley, who shared a co-screenwriting credit with Carl Gottlieb on the 1975 film. Without Benchley we simply wouldn't have Jaws the film, or The Daily Jaws."

Shark Week blimp sightings began on Friday July 1 and will be continuing through Saturday, July 30 on the East and West Coast of the US. Watch the skies!

Shark Week begins its 34th year on July 24th.