Actress Brie Larson to star opposite Tom Hiddleston in Kong: Skull Island

By Adam Poltrack July 24, 2015

marvel movie brie larson kurt russell sylvester stallone gambler — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Red-hot actress Brie Larson (21 Jump Street, The Spectacular Now) is set to become the beauty that awakens the beast.

Larson is in talks to play the female lead in Legendary Pictures’ Kong: Skull Island, the origin story of everyone’s favorite over-sized, skyscraper-scaling simian. The actress — who is fresh off a co-starring gig on Amy Schumer’s Trainwreck — will star opposite Tom Hiddleston (Thor, The Avengers) and Deadline reports that the studio is targeting Russell Crowe for one of the open male leads.

With Legendary co-producing the Godzilla sequels as well, there are also rumors of a future Godzilla Vs. King Kong crossover film (!), but that’s unconfirmed at present.

Related: Tom Hiddleston to star in King Kong spinoff Skull Island

John Gatins and Max Borenstein wrote the script for the new film, and Jordan Vogt-Roberts will direct. The studio aims to start production by early 2016 at the latest and may even kick things off before the end of the year.

The film is said to follow a team of explorers as they delve into the heart of the perilous, prehistoric Skull Island, a place where King Kong isn’t the only monster on the block.

Movie fans will remember that we also visited Skull Island in Peter Jackson’s King Kong (2005) but that film was a remake of the classic 1933 version. This time around, the island will take center-stage, meaning the Empire State Building is probably safe … for now.

As for Larson, the actress has been extremely sought after of-late, and has no less than six projects on her plate: Two in pre-production (Kong: Skull Island, Brooklyn Bridge), two currently filming (Free Fire, Wiener Dog) and two in post-production (Basmati Blues, Room).

Sounds like she could use a vacation. We hear Skull Island is lovely this time of year …

The film will be released by Universal Pictures on March 10, 2017, and will appear in Imax 3D in select theaters.

Editors' Recommendations

Captain Marvel star Brie Larson joins Fast and Furious 10

Topics

Contributor

Adam is an A/V News Writer for Digital Trends, and is responsible for bringing you the latest advances in A/V…

Entertainment

Everything leaving Netflix in May 2024

Russell Crowe and Guy Pierce as Bud and Exley looking into a car in L.A. Confidential.

Netflix is always at its best when it has a robust lineup of movies from other studios to go along with its original films. But in May, Netflix is going to lose a lot of great flicks, because several of its movies on loan from rival studios are going back home. This month, that includes L.A. Confidential, the first four Hunger Games movies, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and even Where the Crawdads Sing, which enjoyed a nearly 18-month run on Netflix following its theatrical release.

Fox's short-lived sitcom The Mick is also departing Netflix, which tends to shed movies more often than it does shows. But there is an upside to this month's content migration: May has a full 31 days and a holiday weekend. That should go a long way toward helping plan your movie nights so you can catch these films and shows before they depart.

Entertainment

Everything leaving Hulu in May 2024

Aaron Eckhart in Thank You For Smoking.

May is one of the longest months of the year, and Hulu subscribers may need all 31 days to catch some of their favorite movies before they leave at the end of the month. The brilliant satire Thank You For Smoking, the intense noir thriller L.A. Confidential, The Wrestler, Taken, Salt, Life of Pi, Scarface, and more are all on their way out of the door. Some of them have gone through this cycle before and come back to Hulu. But there's no guarantee that you'll see them again on this streaming service.

Right now, you have time to catch all of these films at your leisure. If you go through our list of everything leaving Hulu in May 2024, it should be easy start planning your movie nights in advance. Our favorite picks for the month are in bold.

Entertainment

Everything coming to PBS in May 2024

Suranne Jones and Eve Best in MaryLand.

Although the programming on PBS in May could look slight compared to April, remember that new episodes of Guilt and A Brief History of the Future will also premiere this month. The only drama series debuting in May is Maryland, a new British series that is making its American premiere on PBS. And if that's not enough drama for you, Great Performances will have feature new productions of Hamlet and Purlie Victorious.

Throughout the month, PBS will air multiple news, nature, and investigative reports as specials and standalone episodes. Near the end of May, music lovers can look forward to the National Memorial Day Concert 2024 and a tribute to the legendary Rodgers and Hammerstein.