Tom Hiddleston To Star In Legendary’s King Kong Prequel Skull Island

At San Diego Comic-Con this past summer, Legendary Pictures made the surprise announcement that a new King Kong movie was in the works. Titled Skull Island, the film will delve into the location of the iconic giant gorilla’s origin and will hit theaters on November 4th, 2016.

At the time, no other information about Skull Island – including plot details and the creative team that would bring it to life – were given. Legendary remedied that this morning though by announcing that fan-favorite actor Tom Hiddleston (Thor: The Dark World, Only Lovers Left Alive) is in talks to star in the action flick, with Jordan Vogt-Roberts (The Kings of Summer, You’re the Worst) in the director’s chair.

Both Vogt-Roberts and Hiddleston have a lot on their plates right now, as the former is also attached to Sony’s Metal Gear Solid adaptation, and the latter is in contention for the Ben-Hur remake that’s also set to hit theaters in 2016. Judging by this news, Vogt-Roberts may have to put Metal Gear Solid on the back burner, though Hiddleston may very well be able to juggle both high-profile pictures at once.

Check out the press release below, and let us know your thoughts about this casting news for Skull Island in the comments section.

Legendary announced its plans to make a feature film [Skull Island] based on the cinematic origins of King Kong during this year’s San Diego Comic Con with an original draft of the script by Max Borenstein. Previous works have touched on the island, but staying on and exploring this mysterious and dangerous place offers Legendary the opportunity to take audiences deeper inside this rich world with a style and scope that parallels other Legendary productions. Universal Pictures will distribute the film on November 4, 2016.

Vogt-Roberts directed and executive produced the Sundance darling THE KINGS OF SUMMER. He has also directed the pilot and multiple episodes of FX’s new series “You’re the Worst” and is set to direct METAL GEAR SOLID for Sony. His other credits include directing the pilot of “Cocked” for Amazon Studios and directing and executive producing the concert documentary NICK OFFERMAN: AMERICAN HAM. He is represented by UTA, 3 Arts Entertainment and attorneys Alan Wertheimer and Andy Gawker.