Legendary Pictures is building up to a King Kong vs. Godzilla rematch

Last Updated on July 22, 2021

When production company Legendary Pictures moved on from their successful 2014 American version of GODZILLA to developing a new chapter in the King Kong mythos with KONG: SKULL ISLAND, fans of the two giant monsters started rooting for an eventual crossover. The possibility seemed to be hampered by the fact that the properties were set up at two different studios – Godzilla at Warner Bros., Kong at Universal. But if the same producers were working with both Godzilla and King Kong, how could they resist having the creatures clash? 

Apparently the answer is, they can't resist. Deadline hears that the studio hurdle has been cleared, as Legendary is moving their Kong project over to Warner Bros. with the intention of following the 2017 release of KONG: SKULL ISLAND and the 2018 release of a sequel to GODZILLA with a crossover film.

This will be a rematch more than fifty years in the making. The original KING KONG VS. GODZILLA, directed by Ishirô Honda, was released by Japan's Toho Studios in 1962, the monster brawl brought to the screen through the use of suitmation, with a little bit of stop-motion animation thrown in there. Times and technology have changed, but King Kong and Godzilla still have a beef with each other, and the folks at Legendary Pictures are going to let them hash it out on the big screen.

The details of the studio move are not yet clear.

To be directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts from a screenplay that has been worked on by John Gatins, Dan Gilroy, Derek Connolly, and GODZILLA's Max Borenstein, KONG: SKULL ISLAND had been scheduled for a March 10, 2017 release by Universal. Hopefully we'll find out soon whether or not that date will change.