Anaconda: Jack Black Reimagined Movie Casts Thandiwe Newton & Steve Zahn

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Anaconda: Jack Black Reimagined Movie Casts Thandiwe Newton & Steve Zahn

The reimagining of Anaconda has added Thandiwe Newton and Steve Zahn to the cast.

The original Anaconda movie was released in 1997 and starred Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, and Owen Wilson. The film spawned a franchise that includes three sequels — 2004’s Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, 2008’s Anaconda 3: Offspring, and 2009’s Anacondas: Trail of Blood — and a crossover Lake Placid vs. Anaconda movie that was released in 2015.

A new, “reimagined” version of Anaconda is now in the works from Sony Pictures. It was previously announced that Jack Black, Paul Rudd, and The Suicide Squad’s Daniela Melchior will star in the movie.

Now, per The Hollywood Reporter, Newton (Westworld) and Zahn (The White Lotus) have joined the cast of the movie. They’ll play “childhood friends that join [Rudd and Black] on the ill-fated adventure. Additionally, Selton Mello has been cast as a Brazilian animal wrangler and Ione Skye has been tapped to play Black’s character’s wife.

What is the new Anaconda movie about?

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new movie “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.”

Black plays an “erstwhile director” in the film, while Rudd portrays an “actor who did a stint on a cop show but sees his Hollywood dreams slipping further and further away.”

Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten co-wrote the screenplay for the new Anaconda movie together, while Gormican will direct it. This will be Gormican’s third feature film following 2014’s That Awkward Moment and 2022’s The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.

Anaconda will be released in United States theaters on December 25, 2025, from Sony Pictures.