'Anaconda' reboot version required Jennifer Lopez's approval?

Anaconda starring Jack Black and Paul Rudd is a reboot version of the 1997 classic film featuring Jennifer Lopez and Ice Cube.

While talking about the 2025 action comedy, director Tom Gormican revealed that when him and writer Kevin Etten decided to remake the film, they first approached Lopez and Ice Cube for their approval.

He added, “We were always thinking that it would be fun to have the surviving members. So we just kept reaching out. [They gave their] stamp of approval.”

The director further explained why he added the fun element into the horror classic.

According to Tom, people are looking for original stories more now, they have had enough of nostalgia.

“Audiences are just tired of not seeing original stories. It’s been a decade of, ‘Here’s some remakes of stuff that you used to love,’ and there’s a limit to people’s nostalgia.”

While the new film carried the reference of the original film, the director sill wanted to move away from the source material and add some of his own original ideas.

Gormican told Variety, “I have a lot of reverence for the original. I love what they did. [But] I didn’t want to play in that sandbox.”

Anaconda released in theatres on December 25 globally.