Jaws 2 Almost Ruined The Franchise By Dropping The Great White Shark

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One early pitch for Jaws 2 involved dropping the great white shark for another sea monster, which might have ruined the whole franchise. The original Jaws became the first true summer blockbuster in 1975, and it's rightly regarded as a classic. During this time, sequels and franchises were relatively rare, outside of the likes of the Bond movies. Jaws was such a success that the studio realized a follow-up was practically a guaranteed hit, but the sequel would — ironically — suffer through a production almost as fraught as the original.

John D. Hancock was the first director hired for Jaws 2 — which was nearly R-rated — which saw Amity becoming something of a ghost town following the events of Jaws. Chief Brody would suffer nightmares about another great white shark coming around too — which, of course, soon happens. Hancock envisioned a darker, less colorful sequel, but after clashing with producers over his version, he was fired. Jaws 2 was then rewritten and new director Jeannot Szwarc (1984's Supergirl) took over. The sequel received lukewarm reviews but was another sizable hit for Universal.

Related: Why Chief Brody Didn't Return for Jaws 3

The first Jaws made Steven Spielberg's career, but it was apparent from an early point he wouldn't return to helm the follow-up. During this time, producers fielded a few concepts, including one from legendary sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke. According to John LeMay's book Jaws Unmade: The Lost Sequels, Prequels, Remakes, and Rip-Offs, Clarke (whose epic 2001 has yet to be topped) wanted to do away with the great white shark entirely and pitched that the sequel should focus on the giant squid, Architeuthis.

There have been conflicting reports on what exactly Clarke's Jaws 2 pitch