Kong: Skull Island director wants a spinoff with John C. Reilly’s character

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

If you haven't yet seen KONG: SKULL ISLAND, be warned that there will be a few mild spoilers for people who would prefer to enter the film unaware of how it unfolds. The latest installment of Universal/Legendary's MonsterVerse is finally upon us with the release of KONG: SKULL ISLAND and fans have, for the most part, found the film to be quite a lot of fun. Although the franchise's near-future has already been mapped out, SKULL ISLAND director Jordan Vogt-Roberts  has his own ideas of how he'd like to follow up the film and which character he'd focus on.

Although his introduction in one of the first KONG: SKULL ISLAND trailers was met with a little criticism, John C. Reilly's character of Hank Marlow wound up stealing the scene more often than not, with our own Chris Bumbray saying that his character, along with Kong himself, left the biggest impression. While speaking with CinemaBlend, KONG: SKULL ISLAND director Jordan Vogt-Roberts revealed that if it were up to him, the next film in the MonsterVerse would be a prequel dealing with Hank Marlow's adventures on the island prior to the events of SKULL ISLAND.

I mean, all people are f**king excited about the idea for Kong and Godzilla and Rodan and all those creatures clashing. I don't exactly know where the world's plans are. In fact, I keep joking that personally I'm more interested in doing a $30 million version of young John C. Reilly on the island. Just some weird, the odd-ball monster comedy with him and Gunpei. So I don't really know where they'd take it from here.

KONG: SKULL ISLAND opens with a sequence set during World War II which finds Hank Marlow engaged in a dog-fight with Japanese pilot Gunpei Ikari. Both soldiers wind up parachuting onto the island where they continue their fight to the death, only to be interrupted by a certain giant monster. We later learn that the pair spent many years together on the island attempting to survive and wound up developing a close friendship. At the moment it's a little unlikely that we'll get to see Jordan Vogt-Roberts' spin-off in the flesh, but if the MonsterVerse continues to grow in popularity, it could very well be possible that we'll see Hank Marlow again in some form. Take HELL IN THE PACIFIC and throw it in a blender with some giant monsters, might be fun.

KONG: SKULL ISLAND is currently playing in theaters, so make sure to check out a review from our own Chris Bumbray and let us know what YOU thought of the film!