1997's Anaconda gave viewers one of the more horrifying movie animals that we still love with its larger-than-life snake. And as it goes, this Amazonian adventure is one of many feature revivals debuting across the 2025 movie schedule. According to one of its human stars, Paul Rudd, ‘it’s not a remake,' and the unconventional metatwist at the heart of it sounds like a potential homerun for Rudd, co-star Jack Black, and director Tom Gormican.
While at SXSW promoting Death of a Unicorn's premiere, Rudd shared with Collider that the new take on the Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez-led film isn’t what you’d expect, sharing that this iteration of Anaconda is in the same unbridled spirit as Gormican's previous film The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Beyond that slice of hype, the MCU actor teased how it's more of a comedic homage as opposed to a direct continuation or reimagining, saying:
It's the same director [as The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent], and the tone of that movie, which was kind of a meta-comedy. It's like that. It’s about a bunch of people who are certainly inspired by and loved the movie Anaconda from the ‘90s, but it's not a remake. It's a totally unique thing, and it is funny. As far as the rating, I don't know. But we've got about a week left, and it's been a blast.
It sounds like quite the present waiting for us on Christmas Day. (Its release day, and not a random comment.) If it’s anything like how the two funnymen presented the Anaconda cast list, I know exactly where I’ll be in the back half of the holiday season. Meta, post-modern approaches to movies and TV shows aren’t for everyone, but for fans like me, who loved seeing NIc Cage reference and play into his legacy and extensive filmography, I’m thrilled to see another Gormican title like it. We’ll have to see if he and his cast can land this big fish – I mean snake.
All in all though, it feels like the flick will deliever the goods even beyond its two stars. But it also doesn’t hurt that Paul Rudd has two other movies on the way – the aforementioned Death of a Unicorn and A24's cringe comedy A24's cringe comedy Friendship (which co-stars Tim Robinson), while Jack Black is heading up A Minecraft Movie. All three projects, and their genres, seem like suitable environments to have been in before jumping in to a midlife-crisis role where the character is invested in reliving the magic of fighting off a shockingly massive anaconda (per the public summary).
Who knows how this will actually stand in comparison to the Luis Llosa film, and how it'll work independently as a meta comedy, but it’s bound to be a bonkers ride. With what’s been released about the coming not-revival, Black, Rudd, Gormican and co. seem to have the serpent under control and on its way to us in a timely manner.
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