Jaws, one of the most popular and well-renowned films of all time, turned 50 this year. Known by many as the first-ever summer blockbuster, it’s no wonder thatJawsis getting itself some major merch for the occasion—including a big release from Mondo.
Jaws' 50th anniversary this yearis a testament to more than one of Spielberg’s best films, but to cinema itself. The film was a major phenomenon upon release, kickstarting the summer blockbuster and changing the movie game. With its mix of memorable dialogue, chilling music, and clever directing,Jawshas stood the test of time beyond its monumental splash in the film scene, necessitating a proper bash for the film’s big 50th.
Game Rant sat down with members of the Mondo team—including senior creative director Peter Santa-Maria, senior creative and product development director Hector Arce, and record label manager Cameron Dean, who spoke about Mondo’s 50th anniversaryJawscollection: a customizable shark statue, a poster of the Orca boat, a remastered vinyl of the film’s score, and a vinyl with never-before-released demo tracks hand-picked by the legendary John Williams himself.This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Mondo Team Talks Creating Jaws' 50th Anniversary Merch
Q: How was theJaws50th anniversary merch collection conceived? What were your goals when planning this set, and how satisfied are you with what was achieved?
Santa-Maria:When Universal reached out to us about the anniversary, we were over the moon with the opportunity to celebrate it across ALL of Mondo. Our crew in collectibles began to develop what ended up being the gnarliestJawsfigure I’ve ever seen! James Groman developed the concept, Brandon Gash sculpted it, and then the sculpt went back to James to paint it! The result speaks for itself—but I’ll add that I’m blown away every time I see it.
We then reached out to the great Danny Haas to deliver aJawsprint that felt both fresh and classic, which is a tall order considering how many incredible pieces of art have been created in honor of this film! Finally, our records team delivered not only a brand new 2XLP of the score, with gorgeous packaging designed by the legendary Alan Hynes, but also a separate vinyl release of rare tracks that has a bite taken out of the record!
Q: There are 4 items in the 50th lot—were any alternate pieces planned, or was this selection settled on early in development?
Arce:Being huge fans of the property, we had a TON of ideas going into this set. It was one of those things where we had so many thoughts going in that we had to tailor it back a bit! In the end, we felt we had landed on a really cool offering that’s a big love letter to the fans.
Q: How closely does the collection forJaws' 50th anniversary follow the formula of previous anniversary sets from Mondo?
Arce:It’s been a while since we’ve done any sort of collection like this. What I can say is that this is certainly our biggest. Having all of our categories working towards putting out this awesome celebration of one of the best movies of all time was such a blast to work on and a huge honor!
Q: With how iconicJaws' score is, the inclusion of two unreleased alternate tracks in the vinyl is a big deal. How did you find out about these tracks, and what was the process like for getting them included on the vinyl?
Dean:It definitely is a big deal, one that we did not take lightly! Quite frankly, the whole process has been surreal. Truth be told, I had no idea this audio existed at first. We were pretty far into the development of the album release when our friend Zach Grossman (who led this project from the Universal side) called me one day, saying that John Williams’ team had a few alternate versions/demo tracks that they wanted to release as a companion piece. It was like “WHAT? There are demos of these songs!?" It was a no-brainer that we had to do something special, so we got to work. Nolan Fleming designed the packaging and shark-bite disc, and everybody involved loved it.
Q: Have you had the chance to listen to the alternate tracks much? If so, what do you think of them?
Dean:I have listened to the tracks quite a bit! I have a test pressing on my turntable right now, in fact. The differences are certainly prevalent, but the compositions themselves are similar to what you’re familiar with. The production value is still very high (it was still recorded on a soundstage). To me, the biggest difference that I’m hearing is that you can hear a lot more individual instrumentation. As in, you hear the individual French horn, individual string plucks, and so on. In that respect, it’s a lot different than the masterfully mixed final version, which has a beautiful wall of sound effects that takes more studious listening to pinpoint single instruments.
Q: What did the process of restoring and remastering Jaws' score involve? Has the task been attempted before, and if so, did prior remasters provide any foundation to Matessino’s rendition?
Dean:In 2017, Mondo released the first actual film-used score for the first time. Many people already know this, but the original 1975 vinyl soundtrack release is actually a re-recording (by Williams) of selections of the score. It wasn’t until the early 2000s that a proper release was given to the film-used score, but only on CD. Mondo had the pleasure of remastering and releasing a beautiful remaster on vinyl in 2017. We worked with a lot of the same people for the 2025 version, so it absolutely served as a foundation.
However, there have been many meaningful advancements in the world of audio restoration since 2017, so we knew we could do something new still. The 50th anniversary was a great excuse to try and make this “The” definitive version of the score and make it sound the absolute best it could—which meant entrusting Mike Matessino.
Q: Considering how much vinyl has become a collector’s item rather than a practical item, how much do you focus on the visual appeal of vinyl records compared to the quantity and quality of tracks?
Santa-Maria:The art and design are equally important to us at Mondo. When we are able to create original packaging for our record releases, we consider it an honor and a responsibility to deliver something that lives up to the music, to create an entirely special experience for the person listening. It’s one of the reasons we love physical media so much.
Jaws Vinyl Figure And Danny Haas Poster
Q: What was the design process for the vinyl figure like? Why did the team choose for the model to be as customizable as it ended up being?
Arce:We are all suchhuge fans ofJawsthat once given the opportunity to make a collectible, we really wanted it to be an undeniable celebration of the movie. This needed to feel and look likeJaws, encapsulating all the huge moments in the film that revolved around the titular shark. We also wanted to have a lot of fun with this collectible, something that brought a bit of the edge of the movie while still putting a smile on your face.
So with that, we decided it’d be a lot of fun to have parts of allJaws’ victims in his mouth, making them removable and adding a bit of a play factor to this piece. In the end, at Mondo, we’re huge fans of everything we put out, and as fans, sometimes one movie reference isn’t enough, or in my case, may not be the only way I want something to be displayed. Allowing the customer to have the freedom to display this however they want is part of what makes it special.
Q: The poster is one of the areas in the collection that references the Orca. How responsive do you think fans are to merch around the film’s boat setpiece compared to its shark antagonist?
Santa-Maria:One of myfavorite things aboutJawsis the fact that a crew of people with diverse backgrounds has to work together to overcome the shark. Whenever I see the Orca, I think of Quint, Brody, and Hooper teaming up to form the ultimate David against the Goliath of the sea!
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