Jurassic World Writer To Wrestle King Kong On Skull Island

What’s a screenwriter to do after writing the script for the third highest-grossing film of all time? He takes a trip to Skull Island. According to The Hollywood Report, Jurassic World co-writer Derek Connolly will trade in dinos for King Kong himself by taking over writing duties for Universal’s Kong: Skull Island, which is slated for a March 10, 2017 release. Prior to Connolly’s involvement, Max Borenstein (Godzilla), John Gatins (Flight), and Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler) all worked on the script, so think of it as a collaborative effort among some of Hollywood’s most colossally admired writers.
Connolly isn’t the only name attached to the forthcoming monster flick: Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, and Corey Hawkins are set to star in the film, which begins shooting this October in Hawaii, Iceland, and Vietnam. Other top-shelf actors allegedly involved are Samuel L. Jackson, John C. Reilly, and Tom Wilkinson.
As for the film’s director, instead of Peter Jackson we’re getting Jordan Vogt-Roberts. A relative unknown, Vogt-Roberts previously worked on numerous comedy series, TV movies, and directed the 2013 indie dramedy The Kings of Summer. What’s most interesting about the director’s resume is he’s rumoured to be helming the big-screen adaptation of beloved video game Metal Gear Solid.
Speaking of past work, Connolly co-wrote 2012’s Sundance hit Safety Not Guaranteed with that film’s director, Colin Trevorrow, who also co-wrote and directed Jurassic World. Dude’s clearly in very good company.