Jaws 4's original concept made it sound like a mashup between Point Break and The Meg. Jaws is considered the first true summer blockbuster, and survived a famously troubled production to become a classic. The franchise became a goldmine for studio Universal where Jaws 2 and Jaws 3D - which both experienced their share of productions woes - also turned very healthy profits. In need of a hit following the disaster of Howard The Duck, Universal executive Sid Sheinberg abruptly greenlit Jaws: The Revenge in late 1986 for a summer 1987 release.

This left the filmmakers behind the sequel with less than a year to write, shoot and edit the movie. Jaws: The Revenge helmer Joseph Sargeant decided to give the movie's new killer Great White a supernatural motive as that was the only unique angle left to explore, but history has recorded how Universal's gamble went. Jaws: The Revenge - which has two different endings - opened to terrible reviews and while it didn't flop, it wasn't a success either. The sequel now regularly tops lists of all-time terrible movies, and while it has merits - including some unnerving attack sequences and a great music score - Jaws: The Revenge is definitely a mess.

Related: Jaws The Revenge’s Original First Victim Would Have Completely Changed The Franchise

A little recorded part of the sequel's history is that Jaws: The Revenge wasn't the first concept that was developed. Miracle Mile helmer Steve De Jarnatt was first hired by Universal studio head Frank Price to pen a screenplay for Jaws 4, with the writer deciding to take a more tongue-in-cheek approach. According to an interview with De Jarnatt at Money Into Light, his script opened in what appeared to be Elizabethian England with a drunk man and woman, only to reveal it was at a Renaissance Fair. The woman would have gone swimming in an homage to Jaws' opening scene - which even gave Spielberg nightmares - but as she's about to get attacked by a Great White, a megalodon would have emerged and bitten that shark in two.

jaws 4 poster 1987

De Jarnatt's take on Jaws 4 would have followed Malibu "surf punks" fighting the shark and reportedly would have ended with the lead character's girlfriend being swallowed whole and after the hero killed the megalodon he would cut her - still alive, of course - out of its stomach. De Jarnatt's take was more comedic than any of the previous entries and in keeping with the sequel's tendency to make the sharks bigger, included an actual megalodon into proceedings. Whether this take would have worked better than Jaws: The Revenge is open to debate, but at least it would have owned the ridiculousness of the concept.

De Jarnatt believes that the infamous fistfight that broke out between Sheinberg and Price over Howard The Duck's bombing is partly to blame for his Jaws 4 script being thrown out. Sheinberg was also married to Jaws actor Lorraine Gary, and De Jarnatt's story had no role for her, while The Revenge itself made her the lead character. The writer doesn't sound disappointed it didn't happen, stating "To be honest, it was no great shakes." That said, it's an interesting alternate route the franchise could have taken.

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