The Jack Black-starring Anaconda is stuffed with meta humor and references to the franchise, but additionally got here with a shock Kung Fu Panda Easter egg with an cute origin behind it. The brand new horror-comedy serves as a mushy reboot of the Ice Dice and Jennifer Lopez-starring cult traditional, wherein a gaggle of childhood pals head to the Amazon to remake the unique movie, solely to grow to be hunted for actual by the titular large snake.
Forward of the film’s launch, ScreenRant‘s Ash Crossan interviewed Thandiwe Newton and Steve Zahn to debate Anaconda. In reflecting on the meta humor of the movie, in addition to the improvisational nature of the shoot, the duo started by acknowledging the “respect” everybody had for one another in making approach for each other to have their comedic highlight.
Newton pointed to her “superb” co-star Selton Mello for example, describing his character of Brazilian snake handler Santiago as being “so bizarre” and “hilarious,” all whereas being identified for his extra dramatic work within the nation and being “probably the most revered actor in Brazil,” and trusting in co-writer/director Tom Gormican in making his English-language debut:
Thandiwe Newton: He is out right here taking part in issues actually significantly, and he would not all the time know what he is saying as a result of his English is not nice — although it is good. Kevin Etten and Tom Gormican would throw him a line, and he would not know what he was saying. He would simply say it again all deadpan.
Agreeing with Zahn’s suggestion that Mello did not truly know why a few of Gormican’s concepts have been as humorous as they have been for the English-speaking solid and crew, the Emmy winner went on to recall a very “critical” scene wherein, as Santiago is grieving the demise of a personality, “[Mello] begins to sing.” From there, “all of us simply began singing,” with Newton feeling, “Why not?,” whereas Zahn thought it “so humorous.”
Throughout this scene, Newton subsequently snuck in, “Snakety snake. Snakety snake,” which she cited as being a nod to a scene from Kung Fu Panda wherein “Po says [that] to Lucy Liu’s character.” The star went on to share the cute origin behind improvising the Easter egg within the movie, saying that the DreamWorks franchise is “actually within the DNA of my household now“:
Thandiwe Newton: All my three stunning youngsters — the eldest is 25 — love Po. Iconic would not even come near what Jack has executed with that franchise. I did not suppose it was going to finish up within the film, however there it’s. And there is fricking Po standing proper subsequent to me! I imply, wow.
Even after over a decade because it launched, the Kung Fu Panda franchise stays considered one of Black’s extra properties in his profession, notably for being the primary movie he led to correctly launch a franchise. He had beforehand co-starred in later installments of franchises, or movies that will go on to spawn follow-ups with out him, a number of the extra notable being the Ice Age film sequence and I Nonetheless Know What You Did Final Summer season.
The truth that Newton’s household is a part of why she has such a robust love for the Kung Fu Panda motion pictures additionally has an additional cute origin in that her daughter, actor Nico Parker, has herself joined the world of DreamWorks franchises with the live-action Methods to Practice Your Dragon remake, starring as Astrid. Whereas there has by no means been an official crossover between the properties earlier than, they do share a house of Common Studios, leaving the door open for Parker to additional deliver house the Anaconda Easter egg full-circle sooner or later.
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Contemplating the meta nature of the brand new Anaconda, it actually felt primed for each the solid and inventive duo, Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten, to function Easter eggs from their very own movies as a lot as its cult traditional supply materials. From poking enjoyable on the general nature of the filmmaking business to cameos from authentic stars Ice Dice and Jennifer Lopez taking part in themselves, the snake-centric plot felt primed for references to the likes of Kung Fu Panda and even Black’s Jumanji tenure.
Be sure you try a few of ScreenRant‘s different Anaconda-related protection with:
- Launch Date
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December 24, 2025
- Runtime
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99 minutes
- Director
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Tom Gormican
- Writers
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Kevin Etten
- Producers
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Andrew Kind, Brad Fuller