Sony Pictures will attempt to squeeze new life out of the Anaconda franchise, with a reboot (of a sort) of the giant snake horror movie from The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent director Tom Gormican set to hit theaters this Christmas.
This take on the creature feature will be more of a meta comedy than a straight-up horror, as "a group of friends facing mid-life crises who are remaking their favorite movie from their youth head to the rainforest, only to find themselves in a fight for their lives against natural disasters, giant snakes and violent criminals."
Paul Rudd (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Ghost Busters: Frozen Empire) and Jack Black (Borderlands, School of Rock) will play the lead roles, with Steve Zahn, Thandiwe Newton, Daniela Melchior, and Selton Mello in supporting roles.
"It's a genuine kick in the ass," Rudd said of the reboot in a recent interview. "It was a clever script, and the meta angles of it were appealing to me. I was a big fan of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and the tone of this and that seemed to live in the same world."
"It was the main reason I wanted to do the movie," added Black. "I’m a huge fan of Paul’s work. Dude is f***ing hilarious. And a sweet pea to boot!"
Check out some new character posters below, along with a new teaser.
"Best friends Griff and Doug have always dreamed of remaking their all-time favorite movie "Anaconda." When a midlife crisis pushes them to finally go for it, they assemble a crew and head deep into the jungles of the Amazon to start filming. However, life soon imitates art when a gigantic anaconda with a thirst for blood starts hunting them down."
The original Anaconda was actually a pretty star-studded affair, with Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson, Ice Cube, Eric Stoltz and Jon Voight heading into the Amazon in the hopes of getting an elusive tribe on film, only to wind up being hunted by the world's largest snake. It wasn't exactly well-received upon release (41% on Rotten Tomatoes with a 24% Audience Score), but it has gained something of a cult following over the years.
The movie spawned a number of direct-to-DVD sequels and eventually crossed over with the Lake Placid franchise.