Writer Hired for ANACONDA Reimagining

One of the most memorable and star-studded creature features of the ’90s, Anaconda is being reimagined at Columbia Pictures.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Evan Daugherty (writer of Killing Season and co-writer of 2014's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and 2012's Snow White and the Huntsman) has been hired to write a screenplay for an "an all-new and all-modern take" on Anaconda.

While plot details have yet to be unveiled, THR reveals that the studio is "hoping to take a Meg-style approach" to the reimagining. According to Box Office Mojo, the 2018 colossal shark movie brought in more than $530 million worldwide on an estimated $130 million production budget. A producer and director have not been announced for the new Anaconda film at this time.

Released in 1997, Anaconda followed a film crew and a guide with a hidden agenda deep into the Amazon jungle, where they found themselves prey to a massive snake of prehistoric proportions.

Directed by Luis Llosa and starring Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, Eric Stoltz, Jonathan Hyde, and Owen Wilson, the film launched a franchise that currently consists of five films, the most recent being the 2015 crossover movie Lake Placid vs. Anaconda (co-starring Robert Englund). The last Anaconda movie to get a wide theatrical release was 2004's Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (which brought in over $70 million on an estimated $20 million production budget, according to Box Office Mojo), which was directed by Dwight H. Little (Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers).

As someone who has fond memories of seeing Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid in theaters with my dad, I'm excited to see the Anaconda franchise potentially get new life, and while we'll have to wait and see if the new film moves beyond the script stage, it gives horror fans who like a little slither in their creature features something to look forward to (or fear, if you have ophidiophobia).

Stay tuned to Daily Dead for more updates on the Anaconda reimagining, and if you're unfamiliar with the original movie, we have the official synopsis and trailer below:

Anaconda (1997) synopsis (via Sony): "Anaconda is an action-packed thriller starring JENNIFER LOPEZ (The Wedding Planner), rap superstar ICE CUBE (XXX: State of the Union), Academy Award®-winner JON VOIGHT (1978 Best Actor, Coming Home) and ERIC STOLTZ (Almost Famous). A documentary film crew, headed by anthropologist Steve Cale (Stoltz) and director Terri Flores (Lopez), ventures into the world's most isolated jungle - the Amazon - in search of a lost and forgotten civilization. Early in their journey, they come to the aid of Paul Serone, a Paraguayan guide (Voight), who joins their expedition. But Serone is actually a poacher on the trail of a legendary snake. When Serone hijacks the boat and its crew on his quest to track and kill the giant snake, he steers the expedition right into the path of the deadly monster. Ger ready for a wild, scare-a-minute thrill ride because ANACONDA will grab you and take your breath away."