Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Wilkinson And Maybe John C. Reilly Joining ‘Kong: Skull Island’
Even though the Universal Pictures origin story ofKing Kongfrom Legendary Pictures recentlylost Michael Keaton and J.K. Simmons, the studio is still moving full steam ahead withKong: Skull Islandby looking for replacements, and adding some new talent as well.
Samuel L. Jacksonis reportedly in early talks to take the role that was vacation by Oscar winner J.K. Simmons, andJohn C. Reillyis at the top of a list of actors being considered to replace Keaton, who left the project due to scheduling. In addition,Tom Wilkinson(Batman Begins) is also up for another lead role in the movie. Find out more about theKong Skull Islandcast after the jump!Deadlinereports that none of these actors have deals in place yet, so someone else entirely might end up in these roles. Russell Crowe was just recently named as being in consideration for one of the roles vacated by Simmons and Keaton, so either he’s out of the running or he’s also on the list of candidates like Reilly.Brie Larsonwas recently recruitedfor the female lead in the movie, though details on her character have yet to be revealed. In addition,Corey Hawkins, who plays Dr. Dre inStraight Outta Compton, has also taken a role inKong: Skull Island, but again we don’t know who he will play. In fact, we don’t really know who any of these actors will be playing. As of now we only know that they’ll be part of a team of explorers who head to the title home where King Kong is found.
Written byJohn GatinsandMax Borensteinand directed byKings of SummerhelmerJordan Vogt-Roberts,Kong: Skull Islandis officially described as follows:
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.
As of now my biggest question will be how King Kong will be created in the movie. I don’t mean as in how did he come to be on Skull Island, but rather how he will be created with visual effects.
Even if you didn’t like Peter Jackson’sKing Kong, it’s hard to argue that the motion-capture and visual effects combination that brought Kong to life was breathtaking and most of the work done ten years ago still looks good to this day. The performance that Kong gives as a character is key to making this film work, so I hope that great care is taken to make it right, especially since IMAX 3D is said to be a big part of the release plan for the movie, and Kong needs to look good on such a massive screen.
