Jaws on Mike Flanagan’s wish list: 'room for improvement'
Horror maestro Mike Flanagan is circling a classic, and his knack for dread could be the bite it’s been missing.
During a fan Q&A on Reddit hosted by Prime Video, Mike Flanagan told viewers the dream assignment he can’t shake: a new take on Jaws . He said it while fielding questions about his slate — including his upcoming adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie and his in-the-works movie in The Exorcist franchise — and didn’t mince words about where he sees opportunity.
“Honestly, I wish to hell I could make a Jaws movie. Another example where no one will EVER get close to the original, but there is a ton of room for improvement on the sequels. ”
Steven Spielberg’s 1975 original is basically untouchable, but the follow-ups have long been a punching bag, culminating in Jaws: The Revenge and its infamous “the shark has a grudge” angle. If Flanagan ever got a crack at it, he’d be stepping into a series that looks like this:
- Jaws 2 (1978)
- Jaws 3-D (1983)
- Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
Why it tracks
Flanagan’s calling card is character-first horror with a gut punch — The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass are built on grief, faith, and moral rot as much as ghosts. His Stephen King runs (Gerald’s Game, Doctor Sleep) show he’s comfortable honoring a classic while finding fresh angles. That sensibility lines up with what made Jaws work in the first place: relationships and dread, not just teeth.
He’s also in the middle of reshaping other horror touchstones. His Carrie reimagines parts of the mother- daughter dynamic and builds out a larger supernatural framework around its telekinetic heroine — a sign he’s willing to broaden the canvas without trampling what fans love.
For now, Flanagan’s Jaws talk is wish-list stuff — there’s no shark movie of his in development or announced. He remains busy with his new Exorcist film and his Carrie adaptation, which is what brought him to that Reddit AMA in the first place.