Bruce The Shark's Hollywood Makeover Almost Complete!

The original Jaws shark is back...and has never looked better, not since the filming of Jaws in Martha’s Vineyard in 1974 anyway.

We’ve been following the story of the restoration of the only surviving model of ‘Bruce’ the shark from Jaws since he was rescued from rotting in an LA junkyard.

Hollywood can be unforgiving, but that was certainly no way to treat the most famous fish in cinema, one that was the first to reach the $100 million mark at the US box office.

The four-time Oscar winner will be taking pride of place in a new museum, The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, who proudly announced that Bruce has been "fully transformed."

FX maestro Greg brings his genius to his most beloved project

That transformation is thanks to super Jaws fan and special effects wizard Greg Nicotero, all that is left to restore are his eyes (which are going to be black, like a doll’s one presumes) and those all important teeth.

Bruce on the road to recovery - how beautiful does he look?

That kind of eye and dental work is going to take time and means we won’t get to see Bruce in all his (gory) glory until sometime next year after the 2020 Oscars ceremony when the museum opens.

Well into the final stages of the restoration

Hopefully they’ll reunite Steven Spielberg, Richard Dreyfuss, Joe Alves, Carl Gottlieb and John Williams for the unveiling as well.

All of which means hopefully Bruce will be back to his apex predator looking best in time for his 45th birthday. After all, he won’t be the first Hollywood star to have had a spot of cosmetic surgery to keep him looking youthful.

He just needs to stay away from that saltwater, bad for the skin (not to mention the hydraulics). Oh, and those pesky exploding oxygen tanks.

Words by Dean Newman

Photos courtesy of Greg Nicotero

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

Did you enjoy this blog? You can support The Daily Jaws by donating via PayPal