Here’s news that should come as a shock to absolutely nobody – Universal wants to remake in Jaws, but this time in 3D. At the moment the news isn’t any more than unconfirmed rumour, but to be honest, I’d be more surprised if the studio wasn’t at least thinking about it. With 3D movies currently the toast of Hollywood and Jaws the sort of property that might be well served by an extra dimension, Universal’s got to be at least giving it some serious thought.
Of course, this wouldn’t be Jaws’ first foray into 3D, as the third film was originally shot in 3D and had Dennis Quaid running around waving things at the camera and endless shots of sharks slowly coming towards the audience. Plus, Back To The Future Part II promised us Jaws 19 in 3D holo-vision in 2015, so Universal need to start working on that pretty soon.
The 3D Jaws rumour comes via Cinema Blend, and even they’re not sure of its veracity. However, one part we can hopefully discount is that the studio is considering Tracy Morgan for the Matt Hooper role, originally played by Richard Dreyfuss. Tracy Morgan is many things, but a shark scientist he is not. However if he’s even been in consideration, it suggests the studio wants to take a more comedic turn with the update.
At the moment don’t start tearing your hair out and screaming that they’re destroying a classic, as there’s been no confirmation of how serious the plans for a 3D Jaws remake are, but we wouldn’t be shocked if we get one in the next few years.
One thing it does make me wonder though, is what happened to the Jaws straight-to-DVD sequels? A couple of years ago Universal announced plans to make cheap follow-ups to some of their biggest films, solely for the home entertainment market. This was supposed to include at least one Jaws movie. However, I presume these have fallen by the wayside.