Comic-Con 2015 is fast approaching and we are ready for whatever surprise the film studios may throw at us, just like how Legendary Pictures surprised us with a “King Kong” prequel announcement during 2014 San Diego Comic-Con.
Titled “Kong: Skull Island”, the prequel will star Tom Hiddleston (of “Thor” fame) in the leading role. While we’re excited to see Hiddleston, Legendary just floored us with a piece of bad news: Michael Keaton and J.K. Simmons have opted not to take a trip to the island.
Production on “Kong: Skull Island” was original set to begin later this year, but it got delayed by several weeks. As a result, the 2 well-known actors opted to depart the project due to scheduling conflicts. Fortunately though, Hiddleston is still attached to the film, which gives hope that it’s still going to do well.
The plot of the prequel remains a mystery, but it will based on the cinematic origins of King Kong, with an original draft of the script from Max Borenstein and John Gatins (of “Godzilla” fame). The script is described as:
“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 honours the foundations of existing King Kong lore, but places it in an entirely new, distinct timeline.
Though the studio is already looking for replacements for both roles, the prequel is definitely not going to be the same without Keaton and Simmons. Well, of course it’s going to be different, but are their substitutes able to please longtime “King Kong” fans? We’ll see.
“King of Summer” director Jordan Vogt-Roberts is helming “Kong: Skull Island”, which is slated for release in 3D and IMAX on 10th March 2017. Alex Garcia is producing it with Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni of Legendary, while Eric McLeond serves as executive producer.
Source: Variety, slashfilm.com / Image sources: HitFix, Pop Sugar.
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