When it was announced that Sony Pictures would be resurrecting the “Anaconda” franchise, focusing on a giant man-eating snake, starring comedians Jack Black (“A Minecraft Movie”) and Paul Rudd (“Ant-Man”), we were certainly perplexed, and the trailer that just dropped is still having us scratch our heads about what the thinking is here.
“The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” helmer Tom Gormican directs from a script he co-wrote with Kevin Etten, with a producing team that features Brad Fuller, Andrew Form, Etten, Gormican, and Samson Mücke.
An official logline for the comedic flick from Sony Pictures:
Doug (Jack Black) and Griff (Paul Rudd) have been best friends since they were kids, and have always dreamed of remaking their all-time favorite movie: the cinematic “classic” Anaconda. When a midlife crisis pushes them to finally go for it, they head deep into the Amazon to start filming. But things get real when an actual giant anaconda appears, turning their comically chaotic movie set into a deadly situation. The movie they’re dying to make? It might just get them killed
Selton Mello (“I’m Still Here”), Daniela Melchior (“The Suicide Squad”), Thandiwe Newton (“Westworld”), and Steve Zahn are also among the film’s cast.
The original movie, helmed by Luis Llosa and starring Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Owen Wilson, Eric Stoltz, and Jon Voight (giving one of the weirdest performances of his career) focused on a group working on a nature documentary, was released back in 1997 and wasn’t exactly a straight horror movie, but it wasn’t as absurd as this new one either. Then again, we can’t really fault them for leaning into the more comedic elements of a creature feature for modern audiences after something like “Cocaine Bear.”
Oddly enough, this reboot/legacy horror flick sounds like it is taking loose inspiration from the concept of Black’s comedy “Be Kind Rewind” (video store employees recreate classic films after they erase a collection of VHS tapes), but with a much more mature and meta angle that feels like it could have starred the Broken Lizard crew (known for “Super Troopers” and “Club Dread”).
Of course, it’s a meta comedy, but some of the stuff is so on-the-nose, including the use of the Sir Mix-a-Lot tune of the same name. Without further ado, you can check out that trailer for “Anaconda” below as the comedic horror installment arrives in theaters on Christmas Day.
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