Jack Black and Paul Rudd to star in new Anaconda film

We may be seeing a modern-day version of Anaconda on the big screen, with two big-name comedians set to star in the film.

According to THR, Jack Black and Paul Rudd are in talks to star in the remake of the 1997 action-horror film. In addition, Tom Gormican, known for the comedy The Unbearable Weight of Genius starring Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal, will co-write and direct the film for Columbia Pictures.

THR's sources said the new "Anaconda" tells the story of a group of friends facing a midlife crisis remaking their favorite movies from their youth. They come to the rainforest, only to find themselves in a life-and-death struggle with natural disasters, giant snakes and violent criminals. The specific roles of Blake and Luther are still unknown.

Anaconda was panned by critics but performed well at the box office, grossing $136 million worldwide. A sequel, Anaconda: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, was released in 2004, and three television sequels followed.

The original film has also become a classic, and South Africa's eTV has long been on prime-time rotation.

Synopsis of the 1997 film Anaconda

Deep in the rainforest of the winding Amazon River basin, there lives the ancient and mysterious Shuar tribe. They live in isolation and worship man-eating snakes as totems. The legends and secrets surrounding the Shuar people have excited people outside the rainforest. Anthropologist Steven Kay (Eric Stoltz) is very interested in the Shuar people. He and documentary director Terri Lowry (Jennifer Lopez) form a seven-person crew and go to the rainforest to shoot a documentary for this mysterious tribe. On the way, they rescued a man named Paul Sharon (Jon Voight). Paul volunteered to lead the crew to find the Shuar people, but he never thought that the man's real purpose was to find a terrifying man-eating python. Steven and others, who were kept in the dark, set foot on a bloody road of no return...