Paul Rudd and Jack Black are set to headline a reboot of the Anaconda movie franchise, as they seek to become snake fodder.
It looks like we may be getting another Anaconda film. You could probably have gleamed that from the headline though, to be fair.
While we could make a clever joke about the seemingly endless cycle of reboots, remakes and legacy sequels being somewhat akin to a snake eating its own tail, there’ll certainly be plenty of folks out there that that wish that there had been more Anaconda films, despite the series’ slide into made-for-television ignominy.
The first Anaconda released in 1997 and featured several stars with careers on the rise including Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson and Ice Cube. And let’s not forget that Jon Voight added his talents to the project as well. It was barmy fun, following ‘a film crew that is taken hostage by an insane hunter, who forces them along on his quest to capture the world’s largest and deadliest snake, an anaconda.’
Anaconda earned $145m at the global box office, a very respectable performance which would spark a theatrical sequel, Anacondas: The Hunt For The Blood Orchid. That movie wouldn’t summon the same amount of star power though and from there, the series slid into made-for-TV territory (although a Blu-ray boxset was released a couple of years ago) spawning three more sequels, including a crossover film with Lake Placid. That was it until this year when a Chinese remake of the film appeared with the giant snake eating a group of circus performers.
Sony has been trying to get a Hollywood version of Anaconda up and running for a while. Snow White And The Huntsman writer Evan Daugherty was said to be penning a script but it seems that the studio has now turned to Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten, the scribes behind The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
Gormincan – who also penned the script for Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F – is also set to direct.
As for that casting news then, it’s not yet a done deal but negotiations are said to be underway with Jack Black and Paul Rudd. Given the names involved and Gormican’s recent work, it looks like the new Anaconda film might veer away slightly from being a thriller and instead look to go with a more Cocaine Bear-style comedic bent. We have to admit, now we’re picturing both Rudd and Black tangling with a giant human-eating snake, we’re quite enamoured with the idea.
When we do hear confirmation regarding casting, or when fresh names are added to the project, we’ll let you know here.
