China Remakes ‘Anaconda’ Before Sony And Hollywood Can
JB Augustine
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China remade the last creature feature you might expect and it’s a coming attraction. The 1997 Amazon-set thriller Anaconda has been reinterpreted by the country’s film industry and a trailer was just released.
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Per Geek Tyrant, the Chinese take on the river cruise monster mash “looks insanely brutal” and changes things up by making the protagonists into circus performers who take a detour into the jungle on their way to a gig.
“A group of circus performers, on their way to what they think is a new performance location, become stranded in a lush rainforest after the boat they were on, and the captain leading the way, are eaten and destroyed by an anaconda,” begins the plot synopsis.
“They cross paths with a deadly poacher who is hunting the anaconda, who realizes that he might now have enough bait to catch him. But being circus performers, they have a few survival tricks up their sleeves,” it adds.
This remake comes to us from directors Xiang Qui Liang and Xiang He Sheng and production houses Canno Studio Pictures, Xiang Bros Studios, and Sony Pictures Television. Whether it gets a US release or not is up in the air although a VOD or streaming run is possible.
The original starred Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Owen Wilson, Kari Wuhrer, and Jon Voight, and was directed by Luis Llosa. In it, a group of documentary filmmakers sailing along the Amazon River meets a poacher (Voight) with trapping the title mythic beast on his brain. His agenda has deadly consequences for most involved, including himself.
Anaconda was a worldwide success despite middling reviews and spawned an entire film series that was mostly direct-to-home video. Only the direct sequel, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid directed by Dwight H. Little (Halloween 4, Tekken), managed to get a theatrical release.
An American remake – or ”reimagining” – has been in the pipeline for a few years. Evan Daugherty (Tomb Raider, Snow White and the Huntsman) is attached to write the script and in 2020, The Hollywood Reporter described the project as going for a Meg feel.
No release window has been revealed yet for that one either.
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