Until now, there have been all kinds of rumors concerning Kong: Skull Island. Originally intended to be a follow-up for Peter Jackson's King Kong, Skull Island will turn up to be an origin story for King Kong. Thus, the studio intends to bring in a new and fresh take on the mythos - but to what end?
I ask that because this is the path chosen by almost everybody in Hollywood when it comes to big productions: if it is not a franchise (or a reboot, re-imagining, and so on), then it is not worth the while (exceptions can be found of course, most notably with some of Christopher Nolan's flicks). So what is this fresh take all about? What will Skull Island bring new on the table?
UPDATE: King Kong is scheduled to clash/team-up with Godzilla in 2020. Skull Island will maintained its release scheduled date (March 10, 2017), while Godzilla 2 will be released on June 8 2018 – the MONARCH organization will be featured in both of the movies and it is very likely that other classic monsters will make an appearance.
Here is what Legendary CEO, Thomas Tull, said: “Today, I'm excited to reveal that film was only the beginning of an epic new entertainment universe. As a lifelong fan of these characters, I've always wanted to see the ultimate showdown, and today we're pleased to be announcing that and more.” (via Comic Book Movie).
What do you think? Will the franchise prove profitable enough after the release of Skull Island?
Moving the property around
First off, I need to mention who is involved in making Skull Island. In this way, if until now Legendary Pictures had a deal with Universal as far as anything about King Kong is concerned, things have changed. The studios seem to have broken their arrangement, because some of their movies haven't performed too well - namely Blackhat and Seventh Son. Thus, Legendary made another deal with Warner Bros, as far as Kong is concerned.
Skull Island's script ended up being twitched by Derek Connolly (Jurassic World) - but, again, to what end?
Check out the next page!
Monsters united
Apparently, Universal wasn't too keen on investing too much on a King Kong movie, whether Skull Island ended up being a sequel or a hard reboot. At this point, Warner Bros saw the opportunity and swooped in, sealing a 3 movie deal for the ape.
What kind of deal? Well, Legendary also worked with Warner Bros for 2014's Godzilla, so the math is pretty simple: eventually, after Skull Island, the studios intend to have a mash-up of some sorts, with both King Kong and Godzilla as the main players. How can that work?
Check out on the next page what the writer has to say!
A huge difference in size
This is the main problem, if Skull Island will indeed serve as a starting point of a King Kong/Godzilla movie - a realistic kind of movie that is, since both of the characters appeared on screen together in the "˜60's. Apparently, the Universal execs even laughed at this kind of possibility - stating the obvious: Godzilla will stomp, literally, King Kong in a couple of seconds.
But now Skull Island is with Warner Bros. And, apparently, they have found a way. There are no details as to how a confrontation will happen, though insiders have said that Monarch will be referenced in Skull Island.
Monarch was already established in 2014's Godzilla as the global organization which monitors, studies and hunts the MUTO's. And if indeed Skull Island will take place sometime in the "˜70's, it makes sense having this organization trying to study Kong's birthplace.
So what can we make of this? Check out the next page!
Stating the obvious. Again.
Apparently, if the insiders of The Hollywood Reporters are trustworthy, Skull Island is indeed the premise for a King Kong vs. Godzilla movie. All they need is just a good writer to pen a script of this magnitude.
The reason why such a flick would be hard to make is the most obvious one and it was stated by the Universal execs: the difference between the two monsters is too big. While King Kong is about 25 feet tall, Godzilla is more than 380 feet tall. This won't even be a fight.
And how about the third act, in which (presumably) the two team-up to take down a bigger threat? What reason could they possibly have?
Oh, we get it"¦ Check out the next page too!
Skull Island – a world of possibilities
While Guillermo del Toro insists that Pacific Rim 2 is happening, the rumor is that the sequel has been put on hold. And then there is this: did you know that Legendary and Warner Bros collaborated for Pacific Rim too?
I am not saying anything, but I am saying something still.
So what do you think? Will Skull Island serve as the premise for a King Kong/Godzilla team-up movie?