It’s one of the most iconic scenes in movie history, the opening to Jaws where skinny-dipping Chrissie is thrashed back and forth in the water by a great white shark. So terrifying it would be on the screen, it wound up serving as the poster (itself a scarier version of the book cover). Only, that’s not a great white shark on the Jaws poster at all – it’s a mako.
Surfacing on the internet as of late is the revelation that the inspiration for the famous poster for Jaws – designed by the late, great Roger Kastel – came in the form of a mako shark, particularly a short-fin mako from the ichthyology collection at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. In one particular video from the collection, the guide shows off the actual model that Kastel studied and photographed. And while great whites are considerably larger than makos, the mako is actually the fastest of its kind, hitting up to 60 mph – but come on, speed is tough to make scary on a movie poster. Interestingly, a photo captured a few years ago of a great white looks remarkably similar to the key art.
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Learning that the shark on the Jaws poster isn’t a great white may not be a huge reveal for the most die-hard fans of the film, but considering it is currently going viral, we wanted to share with our readers. To me, it’s definitely a surprise, as wouldn’t we just assume it’s the same kind of shark as the one terrorizing Amity Island?
Whatever the case – and whether you want to bring this tidbit to your next summer Jaws screening – the poster is one of the most iconic ever, one you’d see in everything from a dorm room to a beach town restaurant to a museum. And with Jaws celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, it has only garnered more attention and historical significance. Sadly, Roger Kastel – who also designed the poster for The Empire Strikes Back and 1978’s The Great Train Robbery – passed away in 2023.
Did you know the secret behind the Jaws poster? Where would the artwork rank in the pantheon of iconic film posters?
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