Movies

Rumor Control: Neil Marshall Not Making 'Kong: King Of Skull Island'

kong-king-skull-island
By Russ Fischer

Over eighty years after its debut on the big screen, the original King Kong may get a sequel. In 2004 an illustrated sequel novel, Kong: King of Skull Island, was published. The story is set a quarter-century after King Kong, and which finds Carl Denham and Jack Driscoll on a trip back to Skull Island, where they find out a lot more about both their one-time charge and the environment that gave birth to him.

Now Neil Marshall (The Descent, Game of Thrones) is rumored to be attached to direct a film based on the book. But, as great as that idea is, based on a statement from his writer/director Axelle Carolyn, who also happens to be married to Marshall, you might not want to get your hopes up yet.

The report about Marshall's involvement comes from The Tracking Board, but maybe the best info is from Axelle Carolyn:

As for the source material, Badass Digest has a good rundown of the details that make this an interesting project from a legal perspective. In short, the original copyrighting of King Kong was done in an unusual way, and led, all these many years later, to the creation of this sequel novel, commissioned by the estate of King Kong co-creator Merian C. Cooper.

Given the above, it's probably too much to hope that Marshall is actually on board, which is too bad; he might have the right approach to make a new vision of an old pulp story.

Here's a more full description of the book, which is by Joe DeVito and Brad Strickland.

In 1933, American showman Carl Denham returned from a mysterious, hidden island with a priceless treasure. A treasure not gold or jewels, but the island's barbaric god, a monstrous anthropoid called "Kong." The savage giant escaped and wreaked havoc among the man-made canyons of Manhattan, but within hours of the giant ape's death his body – and Carl Denham – disappeared. Twenty-five years later, the son of Carl Denham makes a shocking discovery that leads him back to the site of his father's greatest adventure and to the answers that will unlock the century's greatest mystery and history's greatest miracle. Authorized by the Cooper Estate and based on the original novel that inspired the all-time classic film. This new novel acts as both prequel and sequel to the classic fantasy tale, King Kong. Acclaimed fantasy artist Joe DeVito and top fantasy and science-fiction writer Brad Strickland join forces to make for an interactive visual-narrative storytelling experience unlike any other.

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