The long‑dormant Anaconda franchise is making a bold return in 2025 with a fresh reboot simply titled Anaconda, set for release on December 25, 2025. Directed by Tom Gormican, who co-wrote the screenplay with Kevin Etten, the film promises a genre‑bending blend of action, horror, and comedy. It brings together comedy favorites Jack Black and Paul Rudd—marking a fun, meta‑textual reinvention rather than a straight sequel to the original 1997 creature feature.

The plot centers on a group of friends experiencing midlife crises who decide to remake their childhood favorite movie, Anaconda. Their meta‑film journey becomes deadly real when they venture into the Amazon rainforest only to find themselves stalked by a colossal snake. The anaconda is no ordinary beast—it’s an evolved predator, possibly genetically modified, that remakes the rules of survival in the jungle . The humor and horror collide in unexpected ways as the characters discover that danger doesn’t care about irony.

In addition to Black and Rudd—who play Doug McCallister, a wedding videographer, and Ronald “Griff” Griffen Jr., a background actor—Selton Mello, Daniela Melchior, Thandiwe Newton, Steve Zahn, and Ione Skye round out the ensemble cast. The production wrapped in early 2025 following several months of filming on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, which doubled as the film’s Amazon rainforest setting .

The look and feel of the film balance homage with reinvention. Filming locations in Queensland granted the production lush tropical scenery, while set designs and creature effects aim to conjure both nostalgia and fresh terror. The reboot embraces CGI-enhanced visuals with humor, injecting an almost absurd tone into the suspense, evident from promotional materials teasing a “big f‑‑‑ing snake” and tongue‑in‑cheek storytelling style.

Critical response to early trailers and set reports suggests the film will lean hard into horror‑comedy territory. Reddit commentary highlights that the snake even vomits up characters, winking at the audience—indicative of a self-referential and over-the-top approach that fans expect from modern meta reinterpretations. Despite this, some hope it will still deliver on suspense and creature brutality.

Set to hit theaters on Christmas Day, December 25, 2025, the reboot is being positioned as a holiday blockbuster and is already generating buzz for its unexpected tonal shift, high-profile cast, and return of the iconic beast. Whether you’re in it for laughs, scares, or nostalgic callbacks, the sixth chapter of the Anaconda saga promises a wild ride down to jungle depths unforeseen—and a snake that may just steal the show