Jordan Vogt-Roberts to Direct Tom Hiddleston in King Kong Prequel, 'Skull Island'

This past Comic-Con was mostly devoid of true surprises, but one certainly did come at the end of Legendary's panel. It was then that the studio behind Godzilla and Pacific Rim announced their latest gigantic project with gigantic creatures, a King Kong prequel titled Skull Island. And now as the film moves forward it has just landed a major, fan-favorite lead in Tom Hiddleston, and red-hot director Jordan Vogt-Roberts.

Legendary and Universal have announced Hiddleston as the star of Skull Island, although it should be noted the press release doesn't mention that title which means they could be changing it. Whatever it's called, the film is expected to explore King Kong's origins on the monster-filled island, and presumably his first encounters with humans. While Hiddleston is the name most people will be familiar with because of The Avengers, it's Vogt-Roberts who is the more intriguing get. He won a lot of people over with his amazing debut, The Kings of Summer, and now he's making a similar transition to blockbusters as Gareth Edwards made on Godzilla.Vogt-Roberts is also set to direct Metal Gear Solid at some point, and Skull Island will be a good opportunity to get acclimated to the studio system.

No word on when filming begins but Skull Island is set to open on November 4th 2016, and hopefully it's just a step towards the King Kong vs. Godzilla vs. Pacific Rim battle we all want to see.

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Joe Cornish Sought for Legendary's King Kong Prequel, 'Skull Island'

Legendary's Comic-Con panel came to a surprising end over the weekend with the announcement of Skull Island, a King Kong prequel taking place in the land of his origin. After showing off a brief teaser of the lush jungle locale, Legendary's Thomas Tull offered up little in the way of details. We quickly learned the film would be released on November 4th 2016, a date that suggests talent will be coming aboard soon, and now we have an idea who is being sought to direct.

Deadline reports Joe Cornish has been offered the directing gig but at this point he has not accepted. Given the high-profile jobs Cornish has turned down it's far from a done deal. The news of a King Kong movie has naturally had some thinking of a future King Kong vs. Godzilla movie, and Legendary has thrown some fire on those rumors by hiring Godzilla writer Max Borenstein to write the screenplay. Skull Island is full of giant, exotic creatures and we saw a lot of it in Peter Jackson's King Kong movie.

Cornish is currently attached to direct Section Six, a potential franchise starring Jack O'Connell (Unbroken) that chronicles the formation of Britain's secret intelligence agency, MI6.

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Comic-Con: Godzilla vs. King Kong? Legendary Announces King Kong Film, 'Skull Island'

In 1962 Toho took their iconic movie monster, Godzilla, and had him fight the most famous ape in cinematic history, King Kong, in the appropriately titled King Kong vs. Godzilla. Legendary Pictures may be trying to do the same because their final announcement from their Comic-Con panel was for Skull Island, a new featuring King Kong.

The reveal was made during a brief teaser, ending with King Kong's mighty roar. The film will explore King Kong's origins on his home island populated by other amazing creatures. Skull Island will be released on November 4th 2016, and here is Legendary's official statement on the news:

"Previous works have touched on the island, but staying and exploring this mysterious and dangerous place offers Legendary the opportunity to take audiences deeper inside this rich world with a style and scope that parallels other Legendary productions."

No word on a director but with a release date set there must be one already on board or about to be revealed.

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