Your Guide to All Six Movies in the Anaconda Franchise

Big stars doing dumb things in a dangerous place where the humans rate low on the food chain. Sure, the setup to the original Anaconda (1997) might not have been made by a committee of geniuses waging an ambitious Academy Award campaign, but it arrived perfectly and cheese-ily crafted to smother movie lovers with a crowd-pleasing blend of comedy and horror. 

With an eclectic ensemble of stars that unquestionably was its own stroke of casting genius, the first Anaconda tripled its $45 million budget at the box office as audiences slithered into theaters on heavy word-of-mouth buzz. As campy horror flicks go, it achieved cult classic status fast — faster, even, than a giant jungle boa can wrap its reticulating coils around unsuspecting prey. 

But a bonus fact that might catch some fans unaware is that Anaconda was only a mere beginning. No fewer than five supersized-snake movies followed in the franchise that the original Anaconda first launched, including an upcoming 2025 feature film (with a new all-star cast) that reimagines the 1997 film that started it all. 

Since Anaconda and its sequels are playing all month long on SYFY (check the schedule here!), there’s no better time than the present to take a nostalgic look back at the frightfully funny Anaconda film franchise in its entirety. Here’s a quick rundown!

Your viewer’s guide to Anaconda and its 5 sequels

Anaconda (1997)

The first Anaconda movie set the tone for all that followed, featuring a ridiculously well-assembled cast that included Ice Cube, Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson, Jon Voight, Eric Stoltz, and more. Building oodles of tension toward the giant snake’s eventual big reveal, Anaconda got the vibe just right as it laid the formula groundwork not only for its own franchise future, but even for later horror-comedy films — from Lake Placid to Snakes on a Plane to Sharknado and beyond — that tapped into Anaconda’s sorta-scary, super-silly groove. 

Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004)

Why deal with one anaconda when you can throw a whole load of ‘em at the screen? You know things are getting serious when they pluralize the big baddie, and as Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid compounded the danger onscreen, it also dutifully achieved what any safe sequel should. Working with a less-renowned cast and a smaller budget than its predecessor, the second Anaconda flick still managed to earn its budget back threefold at the box office, while staying faithful to the essential so-bad-it’s-good fright formula. 

Anaconda 3: Offspring (2008)

Now we’re getting into made-for-TV territory. Anaconda 3: Offspring didn’t bother with any stinkin’ theatrical release, instead forging straight to the small screen on the Sci-Fi Channel (the precursor to today’s SYFY) as a gleefully goofy popcorn flick that still wrings plenty of sneaky laughs from its meme-ably famous leading man. David Hasselhoff stars as an Amazon-bound animal hunter who can’t stop losing crew members, thanks to a mythic “queen” anaconda who marshals her scaly snake minions to throw a super-secret genetic experiment into complete chaos.

Anacondas: Trail of Blood (2009)

The Sci-Fi Channel was also the direct-release home for Anacondas: Trail of Blood, which (if you’re keeping score) counts as the fourth film in the overall Anaconda franchise. Trail of Blood returned Crystal Allen (as Dr. Amanda Hayes) from the previous movie and elevated her to main-character status, alongside a returning John Rhys-Davies (as Peter “J.D.” Murdoch), each trying — with questionable success — to stop a new breed of genetically modified snakes from escaping into the wild with ominously regenerative super-powers. 

Lake Placid vs. Anaconda (2015)

Alien vs. Predator. Godzilla vs. Kong. Freddy vs. Jason… and Lake Placid vs. Anaconda. When it comes to ridiculous movie crossovers, the allure is pretty much irresistible, and if the scares feel extra-cheesy… well, so much the better. By 2015, the Anaconda and killer croc-infested Lake Placid franchises each was eyeing its fifth installment, and the story in the two series’ inevitable collision course (huge snakes have escaped into a lake patrolled by 30-foot crocodiles!) seemed ready to write itself. In keeping with made-for-TV convention, Lake Placid vs. Anaconda debuted directly on SYFY (as it had become known by then), packing in an extra dose of fan service with the appearance of Robert Englund — Freddy Krueger himself! — who reprises his Jim Bickerman character from the previous Lake Placid: The Final Chapter (2012) film. 

Anaconda (2025)

Set to arrive in theaters in December of 2025, the sleekly-titled Anaconda suggests by its very name that the franchise is due for a reset. Billed as a reboot rather than a pedantic remake of the original 1997 Anaconda, the new movie looks to be emulating the same basic game plan that made the first flick such a fan favorite. Like its 1990s namesake, the cast is eclectic and star-powered (Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Daniela Melchior, Thandiwe Newton, Steve Zahn, and Selton Mello), and — if we’re lucky — the 2025 version will strike a similar balance between creepy and corny. Oh — and it should probably feature at least one murderously humongous giant snake. We hope they aren’t forgetting about that.

Anaconda and its three sequels so far are playing all month long on SYFY, check the schedule here!