What Happened to Jaws 2?

17 Aug 2014

The original Jaws was one of the biggest summer blockbusters ever. The term 'summer blockbuster' was basically invented for it and to this day it remains one of the most memorable (and frightening) action movies ever made.

A Sequel Was Inevitable

Based on the success of the first movie, there was no doubt that at least an attempt would be made at making a sequel. Of course, the original was never made with this in mind. Adapted from Peter Benchley's novel Jaws (which itself had no sequel), the movie ended---spoiler alert---with the death of the main protagonist. How could there possibly be a sequel? Of course, money rules, so the studio ordered a script for Jaws 2.

And that's where the problems began

Much of the first film's brilliance can be attributed to it's director, Steven Spielberg. When asked about doing a sequel to jaws, Spielberg replied:

Making a sequel to anything is just a cheap carny trick

Of course, Spielberg had nothing to do with Jaws 2. Neither did Richard Dreyfuss or Robert Shaw. Of the three main characters from the first film, only Roy Scheider returned to reprise his role as Chief Martin Brody and that was reportedly just to get out of his contract with Universal.

It still could have been salvaged if not for the studio

Even without Spielberg and most of the original cast, it still could have been a good movie. Good -- even great -- sequels are possible (I'm looking at you, The Godfather Part II). Initially, Jaws 2 was supposed to be a dark movie about an Amity that had fallen upon hard times after the attack in the first movie, complete with corrupt politicians that were in debt to the mob. But in their infinite wisdom, studio executives decided that the film would be "too dark" for mainstream audiences and that more action and a lighter premise were needed for a summer blockbuster. At the same time, nepotism raised its ugly head when Sid Scheinberg insisted that his wife, actress Lorraine Gary, should go out on a boat and help rescue the kids. When the director refused, he was fired and replaced.

Directors fired, scripts rewritten and a complete piece of garbage is produced

In the end, even the idea of making a sequel to Jaws was flawed. Jaws is arguably the ultimate shark movie (Sharknado notwithstanding) and the chances of making a sequel that could live up to the original were slim. Add in the lack of involvement of the original cast and crew the bad decisions on the part of the studio and you have a recipe for disaster. Just not the summer blockbuster movie kind.