Anaconda Reboot In The Works

By RodneyHatfieldJr for Movies

Remakes are as common in horror films as splattered blood. So when a remake is announced, it really isn’t that big of an announcement unless it is a recent movie. Anaconda came out in all the way back in 1997, so it is about time we had one. Since it is considered by most as one of the best nature attacks film in the last 50 years. The most burning question is; will Jennifer Lopez, the original film’s star will be on board for battling another giant snake.

see-aych

Columbia Pictures has greenlit the film, which takes its name and its premise from the 1997 thriller. Evan Daugherty will write the script, but no other names have been announced at this time. While Anaconda wasn’t much of a hit with critics at the time of its release, it proved to be a surprise success at the box office. It followed a team of documentary filmmakers from National Geographic (J-Lo, Ice Cube, and Owen Wilson among them) as they battled both the killer snake and the hunter trying to capture it.

It has qualifies as a cult classic, thanks to its creative use of CGI, likable characters and an over the top performance from Jon Voight. And it’s spawned some pretty remarkable sequels, including Anacondas: Trail of Blood and the crossover film Lake Placid vs. Anaconda.

filmgazm

As much as we’d love to see where Columbia Pictures would take the story from there, going back to square one is realistically their best bet. And it looks like the studio may take some inspiration from other recent monster hits. According to the studio, we can expect the new Anaconda to be less Trail of Blood and more like The Meg, the 2018 thriller about a prehistoric shark. Whether that means we can expect the film’s villainous killer snake to be even bigger and potentially part-dinosaur remains to be seen. Most likely we will see a higher quality film and budget.

vignette2

One thing that may benefit the new Anaconda is the vast improvements in CGI that have come our way since the late 90s. The original film is unintentionally funny, mostly because it’s hard to be afraid of a giant snake that is so clearly more cartoon than actually a giant snake. The film has the chance to lean into the more comedic (intentional or otherwise) from the original, but still make this new film scary. Even with the 21st century technology, the new Anaconda has to have one  key elements that made the first film a success: the J-Lo factor. While there’s no question that am actress is capable of pulling off the same energy, but will it. That was one of the leading factors that helped it achieve cult status.

Share this article on: