The King Kong reboot turned out to be a massive success, and audiences are now pumped for the eventual Godzilla vs. King Kong movie in 2020. It actually hasn't been a while since we last saw the giant monkey, since he appeared in a Peter Jackson movie back in 2005. As it turns out, Skull Island was supposed to have a shoutout to that version of King Kong — the studio execs just didn't allow it.
Speaking with Empire magazine's podcast, Jordan Vogt-Roberts revealed that the movie was supposed to open very differently. He says:
"The alternate opening that I pitched to them, the studio said: ‘No. You're crazy. You can't do that!' So it's World War II. A full squad comes to this beach. They're killing each other – and then suddenly, this giant monkey (that looks a lot like the monkey from the last King Kong movie) comes out of the jungle. And they just kill it. It's dead. And you're sitting there going, ‘Wait, did they just kill King Kong? Did they kill the hero of this film?' And then you'd hear a roar and see a much bigger creature – the real King Kong. That was the crazy version of me wanting to send a message that this isn't like other King Kong movies that you've seen. The studio were like: ‘You can't do that.'"
It's been widely reported that Skull Island's version of Kong would be the biggest ever seen on film, standing at 104 ft.; Jackson's version basically dwarfs in comparison at only 25 ft. The most modern incarnation of Godzilla, however, is still pretty tall at 355 ft.; Kong looks to be more nimble and quick, however.
That would have been a cool tribute to have Jackson's version of Kong in the beginning of the movie. Say what you will about the 2005 Kong, the scene where the giant insects slowly eat the crew is still one of the most nightmare-inducing scenes in cinema. I'd take on a Skullcrawler any day.
Scratch that. I wouldn't be anywhere near that island.
See Also: Kong: Skull Island Has A Fun Jurassic Park Easter Egg
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