Neil Marshall Will Direct King Kong Sequel Skull Island: Blood Of The King

Neil Marshall is a filmmaker that is in desperate need of a breakout. He’s achieved moderate fame and success with efforts like Dog Soldiers and The Descent, as well as the TV show Game of Thrones, but he hasn’t really broken out just yet. He’s certainly not a household name and unfortunately, he’s still not an A-list director. That may all change very shortly though as Marshall is now set to helm a King Kong sequel (sort of) titled Skull Island: Blood Of The King.

Based off a 2004 graphic novel by Joe DeVito and Brad Strickland, the film will tell an entirely new story that is set roughly 25 years after the titular monster destroyed NYC.

Check out the synopsis from Amazon below:

In 1933, American showman Carl Denham returned from a mysterious, hidden island with a priceless treasure. A treasure not gold or jewels, but the island’s barbaric god, a monstrous anthropoid called “Kong.” The savage giant escaped and wreaked havoc among the man-made canyons of Manhattan, but within hours of the giant ape’s death his body – and Carl Denham – disappeared. Twenty-five years later, the son of Carl Denham makes a shocking discovery that leads him back to the site of his father’s greatest adventure and to the answers that will unlock the century’s greatest mystery and history’s greatest miracle. Authorized by the Cooper Estate and based on the original novel that inspired the all-time classic film. This new novel acts as both prequel and sequel to the classic fantasy tale, King Kong. Acclaimed fantasy artist Joe DeVito and top fantasy and science-fiction writer Brad Strickland join forces to make for an interactive visual-narrative storytelling experience unlike any other.

There’s no word yet on if Universal is going to get involved (as they kind of own the rights to the character) or if this will be a big-budget blockbuster, but either way, it certainly sounds interesting. Marshall is a great choice for a story like this and if the producers can get all the legalities sorted out behind who owns the character and whether or not he can be depicted in this film, then we could have a real treat on our hands.

Hopefully everything works out because I really do enjoy Neil Marshall’s work and I’d love to see him turn this into a huge Hollywood blockbuster with a major studio behind it. It would be exactly the kind of project he needs to further his career and gain more mainstream attention.