Legendary Pictures had quite a day in Hall H. After announcing that the Godzilla sequel will feature Toho favorites Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidora, Legendary provided looks at Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak and Duncan Jones’ Warcraft. At the end of their panel, they ha a big teaser surprise (introduced by producer Thomas Tull, simply, saying, “We’ve been tinkering around with one last thing…” before cueing the video). MTV described the video as follows:
The short clip raced over a restless ocean, then through the foliage and rocks on a deserted island, before the giant gorilla was finally revealed from the shadows. “Being alone in the wilderness, it had gone mad,” a voiceover intoned. Followed by a title card: SKULL ISLAND.
According to a press release from Legendary, the film will hit theaters November 4, 2016. No director is currently attached, and neither story, nor characters were revealed. Just the tantalizing idea that the island where King Kong and other creatures lived in solitude (and purportedly went mad) will get its own film. And we’re guessing its own franchise. The huge production company was behind Peter Jackson’s King Kong, but signs point to this being a King Kong origin film. And with the announcement of all of Godzilla’s biggest foes — minus Kong Kong — taking place in the next Godzilla movement, could these announcements be setting up an eventual Kong-Godzilla big-budget battle?
Another announcement that CraveOnline fully agrees with is an official title change for Michael Mann’s January 2015 thriller, which will heretofore be known as Blackhat (the working title was the cringeworthy Cyber). That film concerns Chris Hemsworth and Viola Davis tracking down a cyber-terrorist network as it moves from Chicago to China to Indonesia. The hugely influential director of Heat, Manhunter, Thief and creator of “Miami Vice” was a surprise (auteur) choice to present an original project at Comic-Con. But he does have Thor behind the computer.
Between these announcements and Guillermo del Toro’s immediate approachability about all his possible projects, Legendary had a great Comic-Con. And, by extension, so too did Universal Pictures (who is their current partner for releases).
Legendary also released logos for both Blackhat and a title card for Warcraft (below).
Brian Formo is a featured contributor on the CraveOnline Film Channel. You can follow him on Twitter at @BrianEmilFormo.
