Well, I suppose it was just too good to last! Two of last year's Oscar worthy actors were being lined up to join Tom Hiddleston in Jordan Vogt-Roberts' KONG: SKULL ISLAND. The actors in question were Michael Keaton and J.K. Simmons, respectively. Unfortunately for audiences, both actors have now left the project.
The Hollywood Reporter cites scheduling conflicts to be the main factor in Keaton and Simmons not taking part, as the film was scheduled to shoot this Fall and has now been pushed back to the end of the year. With the release date as unflinchingly rigid as Peter Jackson's inability to deliver a film in under 2 hours (I jest), we can expect Legendary Pictures to find some replacements ASAP.
While Hiddleston is an exciting prospect for leading man material, it was Keaton and Simmons rounding out the cast that really garnered my interest. Simmons in particular seemed very excited that the story would be taking place in 1970s Detroit, so that he could catch some baseball games. Something about period pieces fits Kong like a glove, but if I was a betting man, I'd say that the second film will still have him running into a certain lizard that's pretty popular at Legendary right now…
KONG: SKULL ISLAND is scheduled to hit theaters on March 10, 2017.
J.K. Simmons would have torn Kong a new one.