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'Kong: Skull Island' 2nd trailer released: Series part of crossover trend

A new preview for the upcoming movie 'Kong' has been released. A later 'Kong' movie is part of a plan to bring together movie monsters Godzilla and King Kong, an example of the popular 'cinematic universe' strategy.

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Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Brie Larson (l.) and Tom Hiddleston (r.) attend the 'Kong: Skull Island' panel on day 3 of Comic-Con International on July 23, 2016, in San Diego.

A new trailer has been released for the latest take on “King Kong.” Meanwhile, a subsequent "Kong" film is being planned to cross over with the 2014 box office success “Godzilla.” 

“Kong: Skull Island” stars Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson as part of a team who travel to the island where King Kong resides. John Goodman, Samuel L. Jackson, and John C. Reilly co-star. 

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The character of King Kong has appeared in the original 1933 film starring Fay Wray and remakes, including the 2005 version directed by Peter Jackson of the “Lord of the Rings” series. 

Last year, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures announced that they were planning to bring two of film’s most famous monsters together. Following the release of “Kong: Skull Island,” King Kong will meet up with monster Godzilla in a film that’s planned for 2020. Godzilla came to the screen again in the 2014 movie that stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen and became a box office hit.

Godzilla and King Kong appearing on the screen together in a cross-over is just the latest example in the film industry of the creation of a revised cinematic universe. Thomas Tull, the CEO of Legendary Entertainment, used the phrase “entertainment universe” when announcing that King Kong and Godzilla would reside in the same fictional world. 

Marvel Studios has of course had massive success with this strategy, creating movies centered around not one character but many that all cross fictional universes to pop up in one another’s films. The “Harry Potter” series is following this trend as well, with the upcoming movie “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” switching the focus to another character from outside the original "Harry Potter" universe, while the “Star Wars” franchise will include spin-off films focusing on characters such as Han Solo. 

The same trend can be seen in films inspired by toys. Hasbro Studios, which is behind the hugely successful “Transformers” films, is looking to create a fictional movie universe involving such properties as Visionaries and Micronauts.

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