Warning: Major SPOILERS lie ahead for 2025's Anaconda!Ice Cube isn't the only surprise returning face in 2025's Anaconda, as the movie concludes with a Jennifer Lopez cameo to set up a sequel, which director Tom Gormican is already teasing ideas for. Lopez co-led the 1997 cult classic horror film as a documentary director who, while searching for a long-lost Indigenous tribe in the Amazon jungle, inadvertently becomes hunted by the titular giant snake.
The new Anaconda, meanwhile, is led by Jack Black and Paul Rudd as two childhood friends who, overcome by a midlife crisis, decide to try and make their filmmaking dreams come true by joining up with two of their other friends to head to the Amazon and remake the original. However, much like Lopez and the rest of the documentary crew characters of the original, the group find themselves in a fight for survival against a very real giant snake.
Ahead of the movie's release, ScreenRant's Ash Crossan interviewed Tom Gormican to discuss Anaconda. When asked about Jennifer Lopez's cameo at the end of the film, the co-writer/director recalls approaching the Golden Globe nominee about potentially returning for the film, to which she immediately questioned whether the goal was "making fun of the original Anaconda," but Gormican assured that was the opposite of his plan:
Tom Gormican: "No, this is a love letter to the original Anaconda." And she was like, "Then I'm totally in," and came in. She has an incredible presence. And I think Jack and I were both like, "Oh God, it's amazing to have her here." But again, it's the stamp of approval.
When asked about a potential sequel to the new film, Gormican confirmed that Lopez's cameo is intended to be the setup for one, calling it "your sequel system
Also being presented with the concept of the sequel seeing the new cast actually go off and remake other Sony IP, Gormican does call it "an interesting idea," but that the most recent thought he and co-writer Kevin Etten had would "be all sorts of different villains" while still keeping the Anaconda name attached to the front:
Tom Gormican: We had talked about the idea of them remaking the movie that they had as kids. So, it would be like Anaconda 2: Sasquatch, but it'd just be all sorts of different villains. [Laughs] But I don't know, I'm not sure. I feel like if we did another Anaconda, I'd love to see it in a city, so I didn't have to go back into the jungle. [Chuckles]
As previously noted, Lopez was one of two major stars to return from the original Anaconda for the meta reboot. Ice Cube appears in the movie's final act as himself, briefly saving the new characters from the titular giant snake after they stumble upon a set of an "official" Sony-produced reboot. Lopez, meanwhile, appears in Anaconda's ending as herself, approaching the group with an offer to properly direct and star in a new installment after having seen their unofficial remake.
Should Gormican and his creative team be successful in getting an Anaconda sequel off the ground, it would be the first of its kind. There have been a wide variety of meta looks at the filmmaking industry, ranging from the more fictional The Fall Guy to the true-story-inspired Nouvelle Vague, but none have actually led to the production of a sequel of the stories they were adapting.
Additionally, it would be Lopez's first-ever sequel to a franchise she helped start. Excluding her meta cameo for the new Anaconda, the only sequels the star has in her filmography are the fourth and fifth installments in the Ice Age franchise, the former of which marked her debut in the animated series. Much like the meta horror-comedy, there have been talks of a sequel to her Netflix action-thriller The Mother, but nothing official has materialized.
As Gormican notes, the chances of an Anaconda sequel happening will ultimately come down to how the new film performs at the box office. Currently sitting at a 49% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, it is the best-reviewed installment in the franchise thus far, and has a cast of well-liked stars at the forefront. However, with a crowded Christmas weekend at the box office pitting it against everything from the blockbuster Avatar: Fire and Ash to the family-friendly SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, record-setting David and Oscar hopefuls Marty Supreme and The Testament of Ann Lee, it will need some strong word of mouth to make the money Sony wants to produce a follow-up.
