Paul Rudd and Jack Black lead the cast of Anaconda, a brand new reboot of the franchise-starting 1997 monster movie that’s taking a wholly unexpected meta approach. In this year’s Anaconda, slithering into theaters on Christmas Day, Rudd and Black play best friends who attempt to remake Anaconda and end up in their own real-life horror movie.

Watch the official trailer for the Anaconda reboot below.

Chatting with PEOPLE, Jack Black describes the film as “an exciting mix of comedy and horror.” He adds, “Buckle up for the thrill ride of the season — Anaconda is coming!”

“It’s a lot funnier than the original,” he told EW, “but it does have a lot of the original vibes in terms of the scary parts. It’s a horror film for real, but it’s also got some clownin’ for sure.”

Anaconda swims into theaters on December 25, 2025.

Thandiwe Newton (Westworld), Steve Zahn (Silo, Joy Ride), Selton Mello, Ione Skye (Say Anything, Haunt), and Daniela Melchior (The Suicide Squad) also star.

In Anaconda‘s big screen return, “Best friends Doug and Griff have always dreamed of remaking their all-time favorite movie: the cinematic classic, Anaconda. But things get real when an actual giant anaconda appears, turning their comically chaotic movie set into a deadly situation. The movie they’re dying to make? It might just get them killed.”

Tom Gormican (The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent) is scripting and directing.

The original film was directed by Luis Llosa, and it featured an ensemble cast including Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, Eric Stoltz, Owen Wilson and Danny Trejo.

In the 1997 movie, a film crew is taken hostage by an insane hunter, who forces them along on his quest to capture the world’s largest – and deadliest – snake.

The movie ended up spawning three sequels between 2004 and 2009, and the Anaconda franchise more recently battled the Lake Placid franchise in a 2015 crossover.