His star is very much in ascendance following rave reviews and awards attention for BIRDMAN. Now Michael Keaton could be moving from avians to apes, with a part lined up in KING KONG prequel SKULL ISLAND. If negotiations pan out, he’ll be joining Tom Hiddleston and J.K. Simmons for this 3D tale of the Big Apple wrecker’s formative years. Universal and Legendary Pictures are obviously hoping to match the CGI spectacle of a rampaging giant with top notch scary faces on the human front. If Keaton jumps on board we’ll have a very interesting cast, what with hot young thing Hiddleston and Simmons’ own buzz from drumming odyssey WHIPLASH.
Jordan Vogt-Roberts is directing from John Gatins’ and Max Borenstein’s screenplay. Sounding not a million miles away from the “jungle + jolts” formula that made other Kong entries successful, the movie is set to be unleashed on a stompable public in March 2017. Though the film is thought to break away from Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake, I’m sure executives are hoping a certain Mr. Andy Serkis will agree to squeeze into a wetsuit and have dots drawn on his face for the iconic title role.
Source: Variety
