“Could This Be Another Jaws Movie?” I’ve Waited 14 Years For Steven Spielberg To Reveal His Perfect Jaws Sequel Pitch

Steven Spielberg once revealed he had a “very, very good” scene in mind for a potential Jaws sequel – and I’m still waiting 14 years later to hear it! Jaws was a genuine gamechanger for the movie industry, with the Steven Spielberg movie inventing the summer blockbuster. Spielberg skipped out on the rest of the Jaws movie franchise, with each subsequent sequel receiving worse reviews than the last. Despite being an iconic property, there hasn’t been a new entry since 1987.

Jaws is my favorite movie, and I couldn’t even begin to count how many times I’ve seen it. Given how messy Jaws‘ production was, it’s a miracle that it resulted in a borderline flawless final product. While part of me wonders what a Steven Spielberg directed Jaws 2 would have looked like, it might be for the best that it didn’t happen. Spielberg tends to get bored making sequels, as he admitted after making The Lost World. Still, in a 2011 interview with AICN, the legendary filmmaker confessed he had a great sequence in mind for a potential Jaws follow-up.

Steven Spielberg Teased His “Very, Very Good” Jaws Sequel Concept Back In 2011

“I’ll tell you someday!”

During this conversation with AICN’s Quint (AKA The Kingcast’s Eric Vespe), Spielberg touched on all aspects of Jaws, including his decision to pass on the 1978 sequel. While rumors have suggested Spielberg’s version would have been a prequel exploring what happened to young Quint (Robert Shaw) after the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, he claims to have had “no idea at all,” before revealing … I have a very, very good scene which I thought would have been good for a sequel someday, which I will tell you someday because I don’t want it in print.”

Sadly, Spielberg refused to be drawn on details about this amazing scene, despite some gentle encouragement from the interviewer. All he will say is that it’s so good that, when he thinks about it, he has to shut his brain down as he’s afraid he’ll be tempted by it.

But I’ll tell you my scene someday. Every time I think of this scene I think, “Hmmm, could this be another Jaws movie?” and I have to immediately stop myself and immediately pull myself back down to Earth.

Needless to say, Spielberg hasn’t been tempted to go back to Jaws in the 14 years since. I remember reading this interview back in the day and feeling a little flutter of excitement about this sequel pitch Spielberg had in mind. I didn’t think a movie would actually come of it, but it would just be nice to hear Spielberg ideate on what his Jaws 2 would have been. Spielberg’s final word on the topic was promising he would reveal the idea someday, stating “I won’t forget it! I promise, I promise!“

I’m Still Waiting To Hear Spielberg’s Jaws 2 Idea

14 years and counting for Jaws to resurface

Whenever talk of Spielberg rejecting the Jaws sequels comes up, I usually flashback to this AICN interview. Despite promising he wouldn’t forget to reveal it someday, Spielberg has kept tightlipped for 14 years and counting. Spielberg has since taken part in many Jaws retrospectives, but none have managed to coax this sequel idea out so far. 2025 marks Jaws’ 50th anniversary too, so there’s still hope he could spill some deets on what this scene involved.

At this stage, it would be healthier to accept I’m never going to hear it, but the mystery still speaks to me. I do recall Spielberg once talking about a scene he intended for the original in The Making of Jaws, involving a harbormaster in a little shack watching TV and not noticing all the boats on the dock are bobbing up and down, as the unseen shark is gliding underneath them. When the blissfully unaware harbormaster exits to empty his coffee pot, the shark suddenly bursts out of the water and drags him to his doom.

It sounded like a creepy little sequence, but despite his love for this moment, Spielberg lacked the time and budget to film it. There’s a slim chance this could be the Jaws scene Spielberg speaks of, since it seems to be the only one he regrets cutting from the script.

Why Steven Spielberg Rejected Jaws 2 & 3

Spielberg didn’t think it was safe to go back into the water for the Jaws sequels

In a sweet letter Spielberg penned to Jaws: The Revenge helmer Joseph Sargent shortly before that 1987 sequel entered production, he wishes the new director good luck but admits he couldn’t read the screenplay as it brought back painful memories. The difficulty of filming on the ocean combined with the mechanical shark “Bruce” breaking down constantly saw the budget swell to over double its original target at $9 million, while it went about 100 days over schedule.

The stress of this took a tremendous toll on Spielberg, who was in no hurry to film in the ocean again. The director lays this out in his AICN conversation, revealing why he passed on Jaws 2 and later, Jaws 3D.

I was done, I was done with the ocean. I would have done the sequel if I hadn’t had such a horrible time at sea on the first film. I would have absolutely jumped at the chance to own the sequel because I knew that when I was walking away from the sequel I was walking away from a huge piece of my life that I had helped to create, but it wasn’t a hard decision to walk away from it. I just could not imagine going back out to the ocean and sitting in a boat for 9 months. I just couldn’t imagine it. So, I was happy and relieved not to have made the movie, but also I wasn’t happy with the sequel and I realized I had let a franchise go that I could have made a good contribution to.

Jaws 2 was another blockbuster, and while considered a pale imitation of the first film at the time, I think it’s a solid sequel with some great setpieces. The same can’t be said of Jaws 3D or The Revenge, which were greeted with vicious reviews and are mocked to this day. Considering how little he enjoyed Jaws 2, it’s likely Spielberg didn’t get much pleasure from the third and fourth entries either. There’s an unconfirmed rumor that the reason the sequels aren’t packaged with the original in home video releases is that Spielberg personally vetoed this.

Outside of wishing to stay on land, Spielberg and star Richard Dreyfuss were also busy making Close Encounters of the Third Kind when Jaws 2 entered production. After the original director John D Hancock was fired from the sequel after a month, there was a brief period where the producers tried to woo Spielberg back. However, after Spielberg insisted he would need to start the production from scratch with his own concept, Jeannot Szwarc was hired instead. As for Jaws 3, it’s doubtful Spielberg gave the 3D adventure much thought before rejecting it.

I Highly Doubt Another Steven Spielberg Jaws Movie Will Happen

Spielberg’s Jaws 2 will remain unseen

Half a century after it debuted in the summer of 1975, Jaws has lost none of its raw power. The effects may have aged, but that’s about the only valid complaint that could be thrown at it. The legacy of the film is so oversized that I can’t see any scenario where Spielberg would be tempted to go back into the water. He knows better than anyone he could never top the original, and to even attempt it would be playing with fire.

Related

What Steven Spielberg Thought About The Jaws Sequels

Steven Spielberg decided against returning for any of the Jaws sequels, and here’s how he felt about the follow-ups to his 1975 blockbuster.

Even if Spielberg came armed with this Jaws sequel idea he’s holding on to, matching the original is too high a mountain for any filmmaker to climb; the franchise that followed only reinforced that point. Still, if he was tempted to resurrect this sequence as an anniversary short to celebrate Jaws‘ 50th anniversary, I wouldn’t complain one bit.

Source: AICN, Rotten Tomatoes

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  Jaws

  
  

  10/10

  Release Date

  June 20, 1975
  

  Runtime

  124 minutes

  
  

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  Movie(s)

  Jaws, Jaws 2 (1978), Jaws 3-D (1983), Jaws: The Revenge (1987)

  First Film

  Jaws

  Cast

  Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Joseph Mascolo, Jeffrey Kramer, Dennis Quaid, Bess Armstrong, Simon MacCorkindale, Louis Gossett Jr., John Putch, Lance Guest, Mario Van Peebles, Michael Caine, Karen Young

  Character(s)

  Martin Brody, Quint, Matt Hooper, Ellen Brody, Larry Vaughn, Len Peterson, Jeff Hendricks, Mike Brody, Dr. Kathryn Morgan, Philip FitzRoyce, Calvin Bouchard, Sean Brody, Michael Brody, Hoagie Newcombe, Carla Brody

  Comic Release Date

  
  218221
  

  The Jaws film franchise, which began with Steven Spielberg’s 1975 thriller, centers around terrifying encounters with a monstrous great white shark. Set in the fictional Amity Island, the series captures the escalating shark attacks and their impact on the community. It blends suspense, action, and horror as locals and experts struggle to stop the shark.

  
  

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  Jaws 2

  Release Date

  June 16, 1978
  

  Runtime

  116 Minutes

  Director

  Jeannot Szwarc

  
  

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