Sackler’s initial idea for Jaws 2 wasn’t a sequel but rather a prequel about Quint and the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis. When Spielberg was asked to return for Jaws 2, he too wanted to do the World War II-set story (which, in retrospect, seems like a no-brainer). But, according to Joe Alves he asked for “$1 million and 10%,” which the studio didn’t go for. Sackler was instructed to, instead, just write some crap about more Amity Island shark attacks, featuring as many teenagers as possible. At least we got that straight-to-video Nicolas Cage movie 40 years later.
Sackler and director John Hancock wanted Jaws 2 to be set in “a world where Amity was almost a ghost town,” and Chief Brody is “haunted by nightmares” of the first movie. Which is a little weird considering that the ending of Jaws served as an emotional catharsis that seemingly resolved a whole other past trauma for the character. After shooting began, Hancock mysteriously “left” the project and was replaced by a new writer (Jaws co-writer Carl Gottlieb) and a new director, Jeannot Szwarc, who did not get along with star Roy Scheider. As in, Schieder threw Szwarc up against the wall and literally started “wrestling” with him levels of not getting along.