During Geeked Week, Netflix released the first image from Kong: Skull Island, an upcoming animated series set in Legendary’s MonsterVerse. Set in the titular mystical island that serves as the residence for King Kong, the animated series promises to expand the mythology of the cinematic universe launched by Legendary with 2014’s Godzilla.
The image shows a beach where two tiny humans stand inside a colossal footprint left behind by King Kong. While we still don’t know much about Skull Island, the animated series will follow a group of shipwrecked people trying to survive on the island home to giant creatures. We still don’t know when the series is taking place in Legendary’s MonsterVerse timeline, but it should show events that happened before 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong. That’s because, at the end of Godzilla vs. Kong, the giant primate moves from Skull Island and starts to live in Hollow Earth, the underground kingdom that exists beneath Earth’s crust.
However, by the side of the footprint in the series' first image, it would be safe to assume that Skull Island takes place after the events of 2017’s Kong: Skull Island. Set in the ‘70s, Kong: Skull Island follows a military operation in which an unfortunate group of researchers falls victim to the many deadly creatures inhabiting the place. With stunning visuals and amazing fights between monsters, Kong: Skull Island introduced Legendary’s version of the primate, still a young creature that had not reached its full size.
Besides developing Skull Island with Netflix, Legendary is already working on a sequel to Godzilla vs. Kong to take the MonsterVerse in mysterious directions. While little is known about the sequel to Godzilla vs. King Kong, the film should explain what happened after the duel against Mechagodzilla, a monster created by human hands that King Kong and Godzilla defeated while joining forces. There’s also an Apple TV+ series focused on Godzilla and the other Titans in development.
Skull Island is executive produced by writer Brian Duffield (Underwater) and Jacob Robinson under his company Tractor Pants. The series is being developed by Powerhouse Animation, the studio behind Netflix's hit anime series Castlevania and Blood of Zeus.
Skull Island is not the first anime Legendary develops with Netflix to expand a cinematic universe. Last April, Netflix debuted the second and final season of Pacific Rim: The Black, based on Guillermo del Toro’s 2013 film Pacific Rim, in which giant mechas are created by humans to fight interdimensional kaiju.
There’s still no release date for Skull Island.