Dun dun. Dun dun. Dun dun. Dun dun dun dun. Dun dun dun dun… That shudder-inducing sound you hear isn’t the ominous chords of John Williams’ iconic theme, but the sound of producers circling a Jaws remake like sharks. Director Steven Spielberg’s 1975 film — an adaptation of Peter Benchley’s 1974 novel about a man-eating shark that terrorizes the waters surrounding the summer town of Amity Island — isn’t just a masterpiece. 50 years later, the blockbuster-birthing thriller is still widely considered one of the greatest films of all time.
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That’s why filmmakers shouldn’t get chummy with the thought of remaking Jaws, says David Koepp, a veteran writer-producer and frequent collaborator of Spielberg’s since he penned 1993’s Jurassic Park.
“I’d feel terrible for anyone who had to,” Koepp said of scripting a Jaws remake in Empire Magazine’s commemorative Jaws 50th anniversary issue, on stands now. “You can’t come close to it. There have been other very good ocean-adventure movies. Just don’t try and do that one.”
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There have been Jaws sequels, of course, each worst than the last. After setting out to sea aboard the Orca with shark hunter Quint (Robert Shaw) and marine biologist Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), aquaphobic police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) blew up the bad fish, only to have another contractually-obligated encounter with a second shark in 1978’s Jaws 2.
The Jeannot Szwarc-directed followup to Spielberg’s Oscar-winning blockbuster was a moneymaker, but considerably less lauded than its predecessor. Joe Alves directed 1983’s SeaWorld-set threequel Jaws 3-D, and Joseph Sargent took the helm for 1987’s Jaws: The Revenge pitting Brody’s widow, Ellen Brody (Lorraine Gary), against a revenge-seeking killer shark.
The fourth and final Jaws film is probably best remembered for this oft-circulated quote from co-star Michael Caine: “I have never seen the film, but by all accounts it was terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific.” (In a 2010 interview, Caine quipped of a Jaws 5: “I’d turned it down. The money wasn’t good enough.”)
In 2024, National Geographic announced Jaws @ 50, a feature-length documentary about the making of the original movie as it celebrates its 50th anniversary this summer. “The behind-the-scenes stories of the book’s writing and the legendary tumultuous production of the film — including being over budget, over schedule, malfunctioning mechanical sharks, weather issues and sea sickness — will serve as the spine of the documentary,” per the synopsis, which adds the Jaws documentary will also “explore the world and impact of sharks today through testimonials from people who have dedicated their lives to studying and safeguarding sharks and our seas.”
Jaws @ 50, produced in partnership with Spielberg’s Amblin Documentaries, is expected to air this summer on National Geographic and will stream on Disney+ and Hulu.
