A Live-Action ‘King Kong’ Series In Early Development At Disney+

King Kong is one of cinema’s most iconic figures. And Merian C. Cooper’s 1933 film was a watershed moment in the industry. While he attempted to claim ownership of the character at first, it wasn’t until 1976 that judges definitively ruled that Cooper’s estate owned the rights to King Kong outside of the original film and its sequel Son of Kong, both of which were released in 1933.

King Kong has since been remade numerous times for the big screen, including Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake and the 1976 version. Kong has recently played a significant role in Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ MonsterVerse film series, making appearances in the movies Kong: Skull Island in 2017 and Godzilla vs. Kong in 2021.

The great ape is now, in many ways, more marketable than ever. Because the latter movie was one of the first big movies to arrive in theatres after the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new King Kong series in development

According to Deadline, Disney+ is in the early stages of developing a new King Kong series. The series will be produced by Aquaman director James Wan and written by Stephanie Folsom, the original showrunner of Paper Girls. This action/adventure drama will be serialized, and update Kong for the present day.

It will investigate Kong’s mythology and background as well as Skull Island’s and his home’s various paranormal features. The Merian C. Cooper Estate and author Joe DeVito are working together to create new novelizations, which will serve as the series’ primary source of inspiration.

It’s worth noting that, unlike the planned Godzilla series for Apple TV+, this King Kong project will not be linked to the MonsterVerse. However, Netflix is still rumored to be working on an animated series set on Skull Island that is linked to the MonsterVerse.

It is unclear whether Kong will be a part of that story. Kong will return to the big screen in the sequel to Godzilla vs. Kong, which is set to be released on March 15, 2024. It will star Dan Stevens, Wyatt Russell, and Kurt Russell in lead roles.