The storyboards for Jaws depict the original, shark heavy version of the movie. In many ways, modern-day blockbuster cinema can be traced back to the success of Jaws. This 1975 thriller from Steven Spielberg was the first summer blockbuster, with its mix of great characters, terrifying setpieces and use of suspense making it a word-of-mouth smash around the world.
Jaws was a phenomenon, with both the film and its merchandise raking in money for Universal. It was such an undeniable hit that a sequel was quickly greenlit. At the time, follow-ups to a film were often greeted with critical scorn and were lucky to gross around half of the original, but 1978's Jaws 2 - which almost replaced the great white - was another solid hit. Universal later pumped out two more entries, ending with 1987's lambasted Jaws: The Revenge. The way Universal built Jaws as a brand following the success of the original provided a framework from which later movie series would pull from.
In retrospect, it's amazing how little the great white shark is actually shown onscreen in Jaws. The mechanical shark - famously dubbed "Bruce" after Spielberg's lawyer - rarely worked the way it was supposed to. This forced the young director to stage entire setpieces using a fin, yellow barrels or even John Williams' score. The result was incredibly effective, forcing audiences to fill in the gaps. This wasn't the original intent, with Spielberg - who penned a letter to The Revenge's director - planning to use the shark much more during early parts of the movie, as seen in pre-production storyboards.
Jaws Storyboards Gave The Shark A Much Bigger Role
The early Jaws storyboards - many of which were sketched by production designer and future Jaws 3-D helmer Joe Alves - reveal a more active role for "Bruce" in the first half. He was to be glimpsed below the water during the opening attack and was later unveiled during the death of Alex Kitner. The shark was also meant to circle Alex first before emerging from the water and taking the boy in his mouth, before pulling him under. A version of the scene was even shot this way, and while a still from this deleted shot looks positively nightmarish, it was felt to be too intense so early in the story.
Another deleted Jaws scene featured a fisherman named Elton being attacked and eaten on his boat by "Bruce," with the shark destroying the front of the boat before devouring Elton. Even if Jaws' mechanical shark had worked as intended, some of the feats it performed in the storyboards would likely have been too difficult to achieve. Even Spielberg once discussed how if he had filmed the opening with the shark coming down on Chrissie like a behemoth, it might have made for a scary opening, but it would have greatly lessened the impact of the shark in later scenes.