MonsterVerse is currently one of the most significant franchises in pop culture. It kickstarted with 2014’s Godzilla and went on to produce 4 films and 2 TV series. However, there is one film in the franchise that was initially conceived as a different venture, Kong: Skull Island.
The 2017 film was initially planned as a sequel to 2005’s King Kong. After the critical and commercial success of Peter Jackson’s King Kong remake, he thought of making a sequel. Co-incidentally, the director of the last two MonsterVerse films, Adam Wingard, was slated to direct it.
In an interview, director Adam Wingard revealed that he never had to make any official pitch for his MonsterVerse films. He shared the exciting story about the connection shared between Kong: Skull Island and the iconic Peter Jackson film starring Jack Black, Adrien Brody, and Naomi Watts.
Kong: Skull Island was not an original MonsterVerse plan
Contrary to the popcorn entertainer image of the MonsterVerse, Jack Black‘s King Kong was filled with loads of emotion and cinematic excellence. It was critically praised and according to Box Office Mojo, it earned $556.9 million worldwide. Soon after its success, Peter Jackson planned to make a sequel titled Skull Island with Adam Wingard as the director.
Adam Wingard stated in an interview with /Film that The Lord of the Rings filmmaker saw an early version of his You’re Next and wanted him to helm the King Kong sequel. Unfortunately, the rights were transferred from Universal to Warner Bros., and the idea fell apart.
Somehow, Peter Jackson had seen an early version of You’re Next, and he was interested in me directing a sequel to his King Kong film. It was just going to be called Skull Island. Simon Barrett was going to write it.
Mary Parent, who runs Legendary now and produced this movie, was on board with that. But this movie was set up at Universal, and the King Kong rights somehow ended up at Warner Bros.
Before the MonsterVerse planned to introduce the giant ape in their shared universe, Joe Cornish and Guillermo del Toro were also considered by Legendary and Peter Jackson to lead the King Kong sequel. Interestingly, the 2014 report also stated that Skull Island would be a prequel to the Peter Jackson brainchild.
Ultimately, Kong: Skull Island became the second MonsterVerse film and was helmed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts. However, Peter Jackson’s suggestion “stuck in” Legendary executive Mary Parent’s mind. It led Adam Wingard to be the director of two of the most successful films in the franchise.
Why is Adam Wingard bidding farewell to the MonsterVerse?
After the success of two standalone Godzilla films and one Kong film, the studio knew it was time to bring all the cards together. This led to the ultimate MonsterVerse crossover in 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong.
As expected, the fans loved the Adam Wingard directorial, and the film was praised for saving the cinemas after the pandemic. Despite being released both theatrically and digitally on the same day, it was a commercial success. The sequel Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, had even greater results and turned out to be 2024’s second highest grosser.
Adam Wingard was also set to make the threequel before it was announced that scheduling conflicts would not let the director return. It was reported by The Hollywood Reporter that there is no bad blood between Legendary and the director. They parted ways amicably due to timing issues.
The fans loved Wingard’s fun approach in the films. They were loved as big-screen popcorn entertainers. Unfortunately, we did not get the Adam Wingard Monster trilogy but it will be exciting to see which filmmaker enters the project and what he adds to the successful universe.
King Kong can be streamed on Peacock and Kong: Skull Island can be streamed on Max.
