As Hollywood continues its trend of reboots and remakes rather than developing new IP, one classic film franchise is off the table, at least if Steven Spielberg has anything to say about it!
While the studio remake-train seems to have no signs of slowing down anytime soon, one film that we won’t see remade anytime soon is Steven Spielberg’s 1975 shark thriller, Jaws. The film is largely considered to be a masterpiece and the first real summer-blockbuster movie, blazing the trail for decades of films that would come to take the summer by storm.
A recent report from Deadline revealed that Universal has already pitched the idea of rebooting or remaking Jaws to Spielberg, who thankfully shot it down point-blank. Even as a reboot rather than a remake, with Spielberg producing rather than directing, the answer was still a “firm no“.
So for the time being, we are safe from the idea of a Jaws reboot or remake. While the film has had several sequels of varying quality over the years, the franchise has lain dormant for over three decades since the release of the fourth film, Jaws: The Revenge (1987). None of the sequels are considered to be on par with the original film. Spielberg himself did not return to helm any of them; much to the studio’s chagrin.
Steven Spielberg isn’t entirely against the idea of remakes, having several of them under his own belt like Always (1989), War Of The Worlds (2005), and his upcoming West Side Story (2021) adaptation that is set to release this December. When it comes to remaking his own films, however, Spielberg sings a different tune. In an interview with Bloody Disgusting, when the subject of remaking or rebooting his own films came up, Steven Spielberg was quick to respond:
I would never remake one of my own movies — starting with Jaws — but there are Amblin titles in the library that could inspire new stories that were made popular by the films. There isn’t a single title that I’ve earmarked, but yes, I would like to. I would never remake Jaws.
While a Jaws remake or reboot isn’t going to be happening any time soon, it seems like Universal will eventually get around to making it; likely sometime after Spielberg has passed on. So now we just have to keep our fingers crossed that the legendary filmmaker lives to a healthy old age to stave off the studio heads for many years to come.
Are you glad to hear that Jaws is safe from being remade or rebooted? Or do you think it is time to revisit the long-dormant film franchise for a new generation? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below and be sure to stick around Geek Anything for more Jaws updates (whenever that happens?)!
