Michael Keaton Confirmed To Join Tom Hiddleston And J.K. Simmons In KONG: SKULL ISLAND

TheWrap has confirmed that Michael Keaton has indeed taken a role in Legendary's Kong: Skull Island. He'll be joining Tom Hiddleston and J.K. Simmons who were previously cast in the prequel. It's crazy that they've been able to get both leads from Whiplash and Birdman which are highly buzzed awards-level films of 2014.

Michael Keaton has closed his deal to join SKULL ISLAND. #ItsOfficial
— Linda Ge (@lindazge) January 8, 2015

SOURCE: THEWRAP

Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts Confirming METAL GEAR SOLID Shooting After KONG: SKULL ISLAND?

Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts is about to begin shooting on Legendary's King Kong prequel Kong: Skull Island. He posted a tweet that suggested he was ready to tackle the massive production. Also mentioning that he was coming after Solid Snake next. Which is referring to his other massive project the Metal Gear Solid film setup over at Sony. We've had confirmation of sorts that Jordan is indeed our director along with David Goyer (Blade, Batman Begins, Call of Duty Black Ops 1-2) tackling the script.

A production date hasn't been announced but it sounds like things are coming together quicker than expected. Having Goyer write the adaptation of the popular video game series is actually a perfect match, considering he helped write two massive hit installments of the Call of Duty game franchise. One of the biggest problems with video game adaptations is they tend to cling onto fan service or nods, rather than focusing on a good story and cinematic experience. The hope from films like Metal Gear, Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed and Splinter Cell, is that studios will finally figure-out how to adapt this rich source material.

Goodbye burn center & 2014. Goodbye beard. Hello 2015. King Kong, I'm coming for you. Solid Snake, you're next. pic.twitter.com/JGIqWp67QJ
— Jordan Vogt-Roberts (@VogtRoberts) December 31, 2014

SOURCE: TWITTER

J.K. Simmons Has Joined Tom Hiddleston In KONG: SKULL ISLAND

Deadline reports that J.K. Simmons (Juno, Thank You For Smoking, Spider-Man Trilogy, Oz) hot off his widely praised performance in Whiplash has joined the cast of Legendary Picture's Kong: Skull Island. The prequel to the original events of King Kong would explore the origins of the map that was used to find the island. Tom "Loki" Hiddleston will star as the lead of the film, which we hope branches him out to more lead roles in the future.

Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts (Kings of Summer, Metal Gear Solid) the film will be released on March 10th, 2017.


SOURCE: DEADLINE

SKULL ISLAND Starring Tom Hiddleston Retitled To KONG: SKULL ISLAND Pushed To 2017

King Kong prequel Skull Island which would explain the origin of The Skull Island map. Legendary Pictures and Universal Pictures have retitled the film to Kong: Skull Island. Along with moving the release date from November 4th, 2016 to March 10th, 2017. The film's lead is Tom Hiddleston, I'm curious if the move has something to do with his commitments to Marvel films. Marvel's Doctor Strange is also set for November 4th, 2016, that could be another reason.

SOURCE: UNIVERSAL 

Tom Hiddleston Starring In Legendary's KING KONG Origin Film SKULL ISLAND

Variety reports that Tom "Loki' Hiddleston will star in Legendary Picture's King Kong origin film titled Skull Island. Godzilla and Seventh Son writer Max penned the first draft of the script. Joe Cornish (Attack The Block) and Neil Marshall (Game of Thrones, Centurion) had been pursued for the director's chair, but Jordan Vogt-Roberts (Kings of Summer) has taken the gig instead. Jordan was actually in the mix to direct Marvel's Doctor Strange and is rumored to be considered for Sony's Metal Gear Solid adaptation.

Details aren't known about the film, but events would take place before the original film. The island is home to some exotic things including dinosaurs, giant bugs, ancient tribes and other dangerous creatures. Basically, everyone and everything is trying to end your life on Skull Island. Hiddleston's character is also a bit of a mystery.

What we do know is that the film is being headed-up by the same production studio that gave us Godzilla and Pacific Rim, so we're expecting this to be a bit more cohesive than Peter Jackson's take. Hiddleston's involvement isn't too much of a shock. Considering he recently finished shooting Guillermo del Toro's haunted house picture Crimson Peak, another project setup at Legendary. Skull Island is set for release on November 4th, 2016.

SOURCE: VARIETY

Jordan Vogt-Roberts In-Talks To Direct Sony's METAL GEAR SOLID Film

Deadline has some news concerning development of Sony's gestating live-action adaptation of Metal Gear Solid. They report that the studio is in early talks with director Jordan Vogt-Roberts (Kings of Summer) with Spider-Man's Avi Arad tapped to produce. Sony is working closely with Metal Gear's creator Hideo Kojima on the project. Since Kojima has written a majority of the stories for the franchise, it wouldn't be hard to imagine him getting involved with the script.

Christian Bale has long been considered a favorite for the lead role and expressed a slight interest to MTV a while back, even playing the game from time-to-time. Hideo at the original press conference mentioned a desire to see Hugh Jackman play the role of Snake. I feel that either would be great for Snake, but I might enjoy Jackman in the role slightly more. The only problem, Hugh's current lineup of X-Men productions could remove him from ever considering the movie. However, he's been able to squeeze-in projects like Chappie, Prisoners and Pan. Bale on the other hand, might not be so gung-ho about re-upping on a new franchise.

Studios are quickly making grabs for recognizable video game properties, and we should expect a wave of films coming very soon. High-profile adaptations such as Warcraft, Assassin's Creed, Splinter Cell, Uncharted and Mass Effect are already gathering steam.

SOURCE: DEADLINE