King Kong might have been the eight wonder of the world, but even his colossal power is not impervious to the might of the release date shuffle. The project from Legendary/Universal will now move from its planned November 2016 release to March 10, 2017.
The release date isn't the only thing that's changing as the title has undergone a slight modification as well. It seems that the original title of Skull Island wasn’t a clear enough indication that the movie would serve as a prequel to King Kong. To ensure that the general public are under no misconceptions, the marketing team have handily rebranded the title to a far more transparent Kong: Skull Island. We can only assume that Skull Island: The Prequel To King Kong was deemed “a bit on the nose”.
Against popular opinion and perhaps my own better judgement, I quite liked Peter Jackson’s King Kong or more specifically I loved the hour spent on Skull Island with all manner of horrendous creatures. Don’t get me wrong I appreciate Jackson’s King Kong for the epic it is, an ambitious project from an ambitious filmmaker, but it just takes too long to get going. Considering how much I adore the extended Lord of the Rings, the irony of my running time comment isn’t lost on me.
To complete a trilogy of Skull Island updates, the official synopsis has been unleashed even if it doesn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know. Tom Hiddleston is leading the cast for director Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Kong: Skull Island will be released in cinemas on March 10, 2017.
In the spirit of its worldwide blockbuster Godzilla, Legendary Pictures presents a bold new take on the mythos of another iconic beast with Kong: Skull Island which stars Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers and Thor series). Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts (The Kings of Summer) and written by John Gatins (Flight) and Max Borenstein (Godzilla), Kong: Skull Island will fully immerse audiences in the mysterious and dangerous home of the king of the apes as a team of explorers ventures deep inside the treacherous, primordial island. Legendary’s story honors the foundations of existing King Kong lore, but places it in an entirely new, distinct timeline. Thomas Tull (Godzilla, The Dark Knight, Pacific Rim) and Jon Jashni (Godzilla, upcoming Warcraft) will produce and Alex Garcia (Godzilla) will executive produce. The film will be released in 3D and IMAX 3D by Universal Pictures.