'Anaconda' Reboot in the Works With Jack Black and Paul Rudd

Jack Black and Paul Rudd are headed into the Amazon. The pair are reportedly in talks to star together in a reboot of Anaconda, with Tom Gormican ( The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent ) set to direct from a script he is co-writing with collaborator Kevin Etten.

The original Anaconda was released in 1997 and directed by Luis Llosa from a script by Hans Bauer, Jim Cash, and Jack Epps Jr. The film followed a film crew from National Geographic as they went in search of the anaconda -- believed to be the world's biggest, and deadliest, snake -- only to find themselves the ones hunted by the vicious, massive snake. The main cast members were Jennifer Lopez , Owen Wilson, Ice Cube, and Jon Voight.

Anaconda was not a massive box office success but went on to become a cult classic that spawned a franchise consisting of one theatrical stand-alone sequel, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004) and three television sequels, Anaconda 3: Offspring (2008), Anacondas: Trail of Blood (2009), and Lake Placid vs. Anaconda (2015), which was a crossover with the Lake Placid film series. There was also a 2024 Chinese remake of the same name, Anaconda (2024) directed by Xiang Qui Liang and Xiang He Sheng

According to The Hollywood Reporter , sources say the plot of the new film "involves a group of friends facing mid-life crises who are remaking their favorite movie from their youth. They head to the rainforest, only to find themselves in a fight for their lives against natural disasters, giant snakes, and violent criminals."

One source has said that Black may be portraying "an erstwhile director, a man stuck in his job as a wedding videographer," while Rudd plays "an actor who did a stint on a cop show but sees his Hollywood dreams slipping further and further away." However, a separate source stated that it's actually the other way around.

THR noted that this project has been in development at Columbia Pictures since early last year, but it's undergone a number of rewrites as Gormican and Etten worked with Columbia to find the best tonal balance.