The impactJawshad on the movie industry cannot be understated. Not only did it introduce audiences to directorSteven Spielberg, it changed the way movies are made and marketed, and is often credited withstarting the summer blockbuster trend. Of course, with such an impactful hit, Universal Studios was eager to dive back into the waters of Amity Island, in hopes of catching lightning in a bottle (or a giant, lucrative fish) twice.
But perhaps with multipleJaws movies, we were biting off more than we could chew.Jaws 3-Dbaffled audiences andJaws: The Revengeis generally considered one ofthe worst movies ever made.Jaws 2does have fan approval, often thought of asthe only good follow-upto the original, though it is largely a simplified re-hash of what came before it. That being said,an early version of the film took a much darker approach to the story, one that is far more interesting than any of the sequels that were made.
In the suspenseful sequel to Jaws, the seaside community of Amity finds itself under threat once more when a new great white shark begins terrorizing the waters. With the town’s economy still recovering from the previous attacks, it falls to Chief Brody to convince the skeptical townsfolk of the danger and stop the shark before it claims more victims.
After the monumental success that wasJaws, it was only a matter of time before Universal greenlit a sequel. The studio had initially reached out to director Steven Spielberg in hopes that he would return for another outing on Amity Island, but he refused.Entertainment Weeklyrecalls a quote from Spielberg: “I would have done the sequel if I hadn’t had such a horrible time at sea on the first film.” With theoriginal creative’s refusal to return, the studio not only had to find a new director, it had to figure out a new story. For a time, the studio was set onJohn D. Hancock, who had gained esteem for his work on the 1973 film,Bang the Drum Slowly. According to theNew York Times, Hancock was approached by producers to helm the film. Hancock’s wife,Dorothy Tristan, worked on the script and the two crafted a much bleaker Amity Island.
Under the supervision of theAcademy Award nominated director,Jaws 2sought to make a new shark only a part of Amity Island’s problem, with the impact of the first film still plaguing the community. Shady characters, paranoia, and the original cast of teens found their already existing problems only heightened by the terror of the new watery adversary. But after production had already gotten under way, Universal Studios had other ideas that would not only get Hancock’s version waterlogged, but would lead to yet another troubled shark shoot, just when everyone thought it was safe to go back into the cinematic water.
‘Jaws 2’ Was Originally a Much Darker Movie
Hancock and Tristan’s script saw a very different season for the island, its reputation tarnished from the events of 1975. In avideo interview with Daily Jaws, Hancock revealed that an even more unhinged Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) is also trying to come to terms with that summer. The character is experiencing nightmares that include that of his own death at the hands of a shark. His son, Mike, and his friend Andy, are bullied by Reese Vaughn, son of infamous Mayor Vaughn (Murray Hamilton). Reese has no respect for anyone outside of himself, and would becomesomething of a local menace, continuing the Broady/Vaughn feud into the next generation.
In continuing the “new generation” tradition, another newcomer would have been a character known as “Sideburns.” The son ofUSS Indianapolis survivor, Quint (Robert Shaw), has to come to the island to collect his father’s reward for his part in killing the original shark. Meanwhile, a businessman named Boyle comes to town in hopes of buying Quint’s old shack to open up a shark-based tourist trap. Len Petersen, a character who made it into the version that got made (Joseph Mascolo), meanwhile, is a shady developer, looking to take advantage of Amity’s poverty. Other elements included an organized crime storyline (a reference to the original novel), and a greater sense of anxiety for most of the characters.
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In this version of the script,Jaws 2is a much morecharacter-driven piece, but, of course, it’s notJawswithout a shark. This time, the toothy villain is pregnant and nearing birth. Like the finished film, there was a cruising culture among the young people. Mike and Andy find themselves in the shark’s path, and, after the shark acquiresquite a body count, it’s up to Brody, Boyle, and Petersen to save the teens. Similar to the first movie, the shark is able to pick off one of the three “heroes,” when Brody and Boyle are knocked overboard, with Boyle becoming the shark’s final victim.The shark itself met a much more grizzly fate this time, with Petersen dropping two engines and turning on the propellors, and churning the shark to death. The day is once again saved (for the time being). Despite the script being an expanded version of the original, however, Universal had a few issues with the script.
The Studio Wanted ‘Jaws 2’ To Be a Lighter Movie
At their best, sequels expand on the world and characters that made the original great. At their worst, they completelymiss the pointof what made the first film so fantastic to begin with. In the case ofJaws 2, Universal wanted something more like the original and lighter than what Hancock and Tristan’s version offered, according to the Daily Jaws. This wasn’t the first concept for the film that had been rejected.The Making of Jaws 2documentary, available to view on the sequel’s DVD, recalls that Sackler had originally pitched the sequel as a prequel, and would have focused on Quint’s time aboard the Indianapolis.Jawsproducer,David Brown, said that the film was “Too far from the mothership.”
Ultimately, Universal felt the same about Hancock and Tristan’s version.The Sarasota Journalsays thatHancock was removed as director after only a month of shootingdue to his differences with the studio. However, some of his fingerprints can still be seen in the finished film, in particular a shot often considered one of the picture’s best. The iconic and eerie arrival of the shark to Amity was the work of Hancock. On a dark, uneasy evening, the boats in the harbor sway as the shark passes beneath them, its dorsal fin rising from the depths as it closes in on the unsuspecting island. The shot is indeed frightening and is a small glimpse into theworld that would have been Hancock’sJaws 2.
The ‘Jaws’ Sequels Have Always Been in Choppy Waters
This would not be the last time Universal changed the fate of aJawsfilm. Producers Brown andRichard D. Zanuckhad initially pitched the third entry into the series as aparody written byJohn HughescalledJaws 3, People 0. Universal, however, felt such an outing would “Foul the nest,” according to Brown in theJaws 2documentary. Reflecting uponJaws 3-D(in which neither Brown nor Zanuck were involved), Brown said: “We should have fouled the nest.” The franchise would only survive on for one more film,Jaws: The Revenge.A financial and critical failure, the film currently holds a0% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In a sort of victory, however, Hancock and Tristan’s version lived on in the novelization byHank Searls. The book was more influenced by that earlier version, including many of the more character-based elements.
Asuccess at the box officeand with most fans,Jaws 2encouraged Universal to continue the franchise, even though it would eventually drown with fans and critics alike. The version conceived by Hancock and Tristan, however, was a much more involved and dark film, focusing greatly on the characters both familiar and new, and expanding the world ofJawsin a different and more sinister way. Ultimately, Universal sought something more akin to a lighter version of the original. Though it was mainly a rehash of what came before,the legacy of Amity Island and the sharks that stalk itlive on in the minds of movie goers whenever they step into the water.
Filmmakers Considered Making ‘Jaws 2’ a Prequel
Hancock’s version ofJaws 2wasn’t the only one that didn’t get made. Prior to Hancock being brought on to the project, one of the most important members ofJaws’ production team had an idea that had the potential to not only be an incredible installment to the franchise, but is perhaps one of the mostintriguing films never made.According toThe Jaws 2 Log, a production diary-style book, designed and published to give readers a behind the scenes look at how the movie was made, writerHoward Sacklerwas tasked with drafting the very first version of the script. Sackler was a very important name inJaws-lore, but one with which many are unfamiliar. He had been responsible for drafting what would become Quint’s famous U.S.S. Indianapolis speech. While actor Robert Shaw famously refined the final version, Sackler decided to go uncredited for his contributions. His decision is jarring, considering that, by today’s standards, the sequence is considered one ofthe finest dramatic scenes in cinematic history, and played a pivotal role in salvaging the production ofJaws. The documentary,The Shark is Still Workingproclaims that filming the scene helped transitionJawsfrom amonster movieto prestigious film. However, Sackler’s involvement with Quint’s tale wasn’t going to end there.
AsThe Jaws 2 Log, he’d envisionedJaws 2as a prequel. He wrote a treatment for the film that followed Quint’s time on the Indianapolis. The story would have detailed the attack on the vessel and the fight to survive against an ocean filled with sharks. Thewar moviemeetssharksploitationfeature was certainly unlike anything that had been done at the time, and even intrigued studio head, Sid Sheinberg. But the Universal executive ultimately decided to pass on the project. He wasn’t the only one who decided against the idea. As producerDavid Brownstated inThe Making of Jaws 2featurette, the creatives felt that it was “too far from the mothership.” Indeed, the studio and producers wanted something more in the vein ofJaws, which is what they would eventually end up with, albeit in a more simplified fashion.
Hancock’s Version of ‘Jaws 2’ Found Life in Publication
Like its predecessor,Jaws 2hada massive marketing campaign. Universal had capitalized on the first film’ssuccess with loads of merchandise, and followed suit with the sequel, releasing a slew of tie-in materials. In addition toThe Jaws 2 Log, two other literary pieces were published: a novelization ofJaws 2andMarvel Super Special #6from Marvel Comics. Interestingly, both took elements from Hancock’s original script.
The original cover for theJaws 2novel, pennedHank Searels, actually credits Sackler and Tristan’s script. Of course, neither Sackler, Hancock, or Tristan’s version ofJaws 2was filmed, but the book was released several months before the film, meaning Searels was working with the original script to create the book, and not the finished version. It doesn’t take long to spot the jarring differences either. In the book, Amity is a ghost town, and Mayor Vaughn is working with the mafia. There are several other callbacks to Hancock’s version as well, including the revelation that the shark is a pregnant female. She gives birth at one point, which leads tothe violent deathof a baby seal. In a soap opera-style twist, it is also revealed that the shark is the mate of the great white fromJaws. While its unclear if the killer shark romance was a part of the script, all in all, the book keeps Hancock’s original vision alive and canon within the world of theJawsliterature.
Marvel Super Special #6also honored the earlier stories. Similarly to the novelization, the comic opens with a struggling Amity. Early pages set the events three years after the events of the first film. The book introduces Chief Brody as he “speeds to a battleground in Amity’s fight to recover.” As Marvel’s Amity struggles to rebuild, many of the political elements from the original script are once again present. Adapting the earlier version’s more bleak human elements wasn’t the comic’s only bold departure from the original film. It also took darker liberties with the shark. If there’s one thing Marvel Comicsdoes better than anyone else, it’s creating great villains, and the publication’s version of the sharks is the most deadly. The comic portrays her as a bloodthirsty, malevolent killer from its very first panel. The kills are even bloodier than they are in the film and takes the “mindless eating machine” trope to new heights as it quite literally devours its victims.
