A Disney+ series following the origins of the renowned ape, King Kong (working title), is currently in the very early stages of development. The project, from James Wan’s Atomic Monster, has just secured deals and would be the first live-action series set in the Kong universe.
King Kong is a serialized action-adventure drama written by Stephany Folsom, the creator of Paper Girls, that refreshes the classic monster tale by returning to Skull Island and ushering in a new Kong. Based on the intellectual property from Merian C. Cooper’s original books and Joe DeVito’s new King Kong novelizations, the series will tackle the mythology of King Kong’s origin and the supernatural mysteries of his habitat.
Disney+ Will Soon Feature A Well-Known Monster – King Kong
Along with Wan, Michael Clear, and Rob Hackett for Atomic Monster, as well as Marc Manus and Dannie Festa for World Builder Entertainment, Folsom serves as executive producer. In addition to the original book IP, the Merian C. Cooper Estate and DeVito created new novelizations that served as the series’ primary source of inspiration. Five years ago, a live-action series called King Kong Skull Island, based on Cooper’s King Kong and DeVito ArtWorks’ Skull Island, was in development at MarVista Entertainment and IM Global Television with a separate creative team.
King Kong, a 90-year-old character with a complex web of rights, has been the focus of several films. Most recently, he was depicted in Legendary/Warner Bros’ Monsterverse, which only uses the Kong part of the gorilla monster’s name for its titles: 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong, followed by a Netflix anime series, Skull Island.
Filmmaker Wan (produced TV shows like MacGyver and Swamp Thing) is represented by CAA, Stacey Testro International, and Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg Mobasser Younger & Light. Folsom, who worked on the upcoming fantasy series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and also created and executive produced the sci-fi series Paper Girls, both on Amazon, is repped by Verve, Kaplan/Perrone and Yorn, Levine, Barnes. DeVito ArtWorks, the property rights owner, is represented by Festa of World Builder Entertainment and the legal team led by Robert Siegel and Darren Trattner of Jackoway Tyerman.
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