Thandiwe Newton and Steve Zahn Join New ‘Anaconda’

(Left) Thandiwe Newton in ‘Rogue’. Photo: DirecTV. (Right) Steve Zahn in ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.

Preview:

Thandiwe Newton and Steve Zahn are aboard the new ‘Anaconda.’
Jack Black and Paul Rudd are starring.
Directors Tom Gormican is rolling the cameras now.

While the original is certainly funny intentionally in places, the 1997 giant snake thriller ‘Anaconda’ is mostly remembered for being ridiculous even when it tries to be horrific (and let’s be honest, a lot of that is due to Jon Voight’s leery schmuck).

“When you can’t breathe, you can’t scream.”

PG-131 hr 29 minApr 11th, 1997

Now, though, Sony’s Columbia arm has a new take on the concept, and this time the focus is firmly on the funny, with Jack Black and Paul Rudd aboard to star.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the cast has swelled to accommodate ‘Westworld’s Thandiwe Newton, ‘Silo’ actor Steve Zahn, Selton Mello of Oscar hopeful ‘I’m Still Here’ and ‘Beef’s Ione Skye.

What’s the story of ‘Anaconda’?

Jennifer Lopez in 1997’s ‘Anaconda’. Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing.

The original movie starred Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson, Ice Cube and Voight, and followed a National Geographic film crew who is hunting for the world’s largest and deadliest snake, only to find the tables turned.

As you might expect, there is a lot of giant snake action.

That first outing didn’t strike critics well but grossed $136 million at the global box office and went on to quickly reach cult classic status.

‘Anaconda’ was followed by a series of films, including 2004’s ‘Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid’, which also did good theatrical business, before a plunge into schlock fare with two movies that aired on the Sci-Fi Channel in 2008 (starring David Hasselhoff) and 2009.

The last outing was in 2015, when the horror franchise was paired with the crocodile-centric ‘Lake Placid’ series for a horror comedy titled simply, ‘Lake Placid vs. Anaconda,’ starring Yancy Butler and Robert Englund.

What tone will the new ‘Anaconda’ take?

1997’s ‘Anaconda’. Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing.

As you might expect given the presence of Black and Rudd, the aim is for the new movie to go a more comedic route.

Tom Gormican, who last brought us Nicolas Cage spoof ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’, co-wrote the script with collaborator Kevin Etten and is now rolling the cameras in Australia to take advantage of tax breaks via the Queensland Government through Screen Queensland’s Production Attraction Strategy.

The new story, according to The Hollywood Reporter’s sources, 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 will play an erstwhile director, a man stuck in his job as a wedding videographer, while Rudd will play an actor who did a stint on a cop show but sees his Hollywood dreams slipping further and further away.

Newton and Zahn are other childhood friends that join the two on the ill-fated adventure, while Mello will play a Brazilian animal wrangler. Skye is playing Black’s wife.

Where have I seen the new recruits?

(L to R) Thandiwe Newton and Angela Sarafyan in ‘Westworld’. Photo: HBO.

British actor Newton has a wide variety of credits, including ‘Mission: Impossible II,’ ‘Crash,’ ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ and most recently, ‘Mufasa: The Lion King.’

On the small screen, beyond her Emmy-winning turn on ‘Westworld,’ she’s been seen on ‘ER,’ ‘Line of Duty’ and ‘The Slap’ and is heard as Mona on Netflix series ‘Big Mouth.’ She’ll continue her association with the streaming service by showing up on ‘Wednesday’s second season this year.

Zahn, meanwhile, is known for movies including ‘Out of Sight,’ ‘Joy Ride,’ ‘That Thing You Do!’ and, in recent years, ‘8-Bit Christmas’ and as Bad Ape in ‘War for the Planet of the Apes.’

On TV, his credits include the first season of ‘The White Lotus,’ ‘The Righteous Gemstones,’ ‘Modern Family,’ ‘Tremé’ and the recent second season of Apple TV+ sci-fi series ‘Silo.’

Skye, who got her big break in ‘Say Anything,’ has also been seen in ‘Fever Pitch’ and ‘Zodiac’ and on TV in ‘Beef,’ ‘La Brea,’ ‘Good Girls’ and ‘Arrested Development,’ among many others.

Brazilian actor Mello is currently found starring opposite Fernanda Torres in Walter Salles’ political drama ‘I’m Still Here,’ which has been doing well this awards season.

Working as an actor since childhood, he last year starred in another Brazilian movie, ‘Bury Your Dead,’ and is also a director, with one of his movies, ‘The Clown,’ serving as his country’s submission for the best foreign language film at the 2013 Oscars.

When will the new ‘Anaconda’ slither on to screens?

With Fully Formed, the company run by producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form, producing the movie, it has now secured a December 25th release date. Happy Snake-mas!