The first look stills of Paul Rudd and Jack Black‘s Anaconda reboot are here, and it’s all kinds of campy. The 2025 film is designed as a reimagining of the original 1997 cult horror movie with the same name that starred Jennifer Lopez, Jon Voight, Owen Wilson, and Ice Cube, and gave birth to a franchise.
28 years later, Rudd and Black, two comedy icons of this era, are severing the ties between the latest installment and the original. In this meta reboot, the 1997 horror flick is only a cinematic footnote in the 2025 movie world’s reality. The reboot will not only have every over-the-top comedy routine signature to Jack Black, but also serve as a spoof/parody of the mother film.
Jennifer Lopez’s Cult Horror Film Gets a Meta Reboot After 28 Years
In 1997’s Anaconda, Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson, Ice Cube, Eric Stoltz, and Jon Voight headed into the Amazon rainforest for an extraordinary adventure. Only 3 out of the original 7 made it out alive. Although badly reviewed by critics, the creature feature became a commercial success and later, a ’90s cult classic.
Jack Black and Paul Rudd’s 2025 reboot recognizes the cultural value of the 1997 movie and how its worth has only grown for fans in the 28 years since its release. According to the official logline on People
A midlife crisis inspires Doug (Jack Black) and Griff (Paul Rudd) to head into the Amazon rainforest to remake their favorite film from their youth, but everything changes when a real giant anaconda shows up, turning the comically chaotic set into a deadly situation. The movie they’re dying to make? It might just kill them.
People also claims that lifelong best friends Doug and Griff “always dreamed of remaking their all-time favorite movie: the cinematic ‘classic,’ Anaconda.”
As such, all signs point toward the 2025 film being a light parody and a meta reboot of the Jennifer Lopez movie.
However, considering how it’s Jack Black and Paul Rudd in the leads, one can expect all sorts of campy fun, outrageous hilarity, and brazen silliness in place of terrifying and nightmarish creature horror.
Is Jack Black and Paul Rudd’s Anaconda a Standalone Film?
The 2025 movie, Anaconda, serves as a reimagining of the 1997 film with the same title. So it’s inherently tied to the first film of the franchise, despite being a reboot of sorts. Since the main premise serves as a callback to the original Anaconda and shows the main duo trying to relive their childhood classic, it can be safely assumed that the 2025 remake is not a standalone movie.
First look at ‘ANACONDA’, starring Paul Rudd and Jack Black.
The film follows 2 best friends who go to the rainforest to remake their favorite movie ‘Anaconda’, but are put in danger when an actual giant anaconda appears.
In theaters on December 25. pic.twitter.com/qPzsHGVpJZ
As ridiculous and corny as the 1997 film may be, it becomes an essential watch to understand the underlying connotations of the 2025 movie. Without prior knowledge about the original film’s plot and general story, it will be difficult to appreciate the layered humor and satire of Black and Rudd’s reboot.
The 2025 Anaconda is directed by Tom Gormican and also stars Thandiwe Newton (Westworld), Steve Zahn (The White Lotus), Daniela Melchior (The Suicide Squad), and Selton Mello (I’m Still Here).
Below is a table listing all the characters they’ll play in the reboot:
Which of the 5 Anaconda films did you find the hardest to sit through? Let us know in the comments below.
Anaconda is slated to release on Christmas Day 2025. Meanwhile, the 1997 film can be streamed on Netflix.
