Now that the last traces of 2016’s movies are wearing off, the marketing push for 2017 is getting starting with the jam-packed month of March. Power Rangers and Logan have already kicked things off, as both films recently released new trailers online. Not to be outdone, however, Screen Rant’s #15 most anticipated movie of 2017, Kong: Skull Island, has also joined the marketing fray by introducing four new TV spots.

The Comic-Con trailer gave audiences their first look at the characters played by Tom Hiddelston and Academy Award-winner Brie Larson. But there were also solid glimpses of the titular Skull Island, and finally, Kong himself. The second trailer, meanwhile, introduced audiences to the movie’s distinct sense of humor – mostly via John C. Reilly’s character. The new TV spots continue that trend by showing several additional character moments, particularly for Samuel L. Jackson. And naturally, there are plenty more examples of Kong in action, too.

After Peter Jackson’s three-hour epic King Kong chronicled the great ape’s journey from Skull Island to New York, it’s interesting to note that almost all the footage in the Kong: Skull Island trailers and TV spots take place on the island, giving this new take on the giant primate a much narrower focus.

In a clear change of direction from past iterations of the King Kong story, the tagline “All Hail the King” rings true in this marketing. Traditionally the big showdown occurs in New York as the deposed king fights biplanes for survival in a foreign land. As a reboot, Skull Island shakes things up, however, and we see Kong as the dominant ruler of Skull Island, fighting man and beast alike. That doesn’t mean this will be entirely different from what’s come before, as shots of Kong in chains and Tom Hiddleston’s character uttering “we’ve got to save Kong” suggest Skull Island hasn’t strayed too far from the franchise’s roots.

One of the biggest things viewers will be watching for when Kong: Skull Island rolls into theaters is a connection to Legendary’s announced monsters universe. Kong has been massively upsized this time around to allow him to potentially share the screen with the same Godzilla established in Gareth Edwards’s 2014 reboot. How exactly the films are intended to connect has not entirely been established, but it’s a good bet that if Legendary is aiming to inaugurate a cinematic universe, it may very well begin here.

Source: Legendary (via CBM)

  • Kong: Skull Island Release Date: 2017-03-10 Godzilla 2 Release Date: 2019-05-31