'King Kong' Prequel 'Kong: King Of Skull Island' In Development

Peter Jackson's "King Kong" was okay. The titular ape looked cool of course, as did his beastly companions on Skull Island. A punchier edit would have been a good thing, maybe an abandoned sub-plot or two (seriously guys... "Heart of Darkness"?). It was no "Superman Returns," but "Kong" was nonetheless not screaming for a follow-up.

And yet, it looks like that's exactly what we're getting. Variety reports that Spirit Pictures has snapped up the rights to the prequel book "Kong: King of Skull Island," which hit shelves while Jackson's epic was in production. The story focuses on Kong's island home and how he came to be the King. For those out there who haven't read the book, expect to see other giant gorilla and dinosaurs as Kong makes his slow upward climb to the top of the animal kingdom of myth.

What's interesting about this project is how Spirit plans to execute. Jackson's blockbuster scale and WETA-powered visual effects will be replaced by the same performance capture technology used in such CG features as "The Polar Express," "Beowulf" and Disney's upcoming "A Christmas Carol." The article notes that Spirit will produce CG elements in-house.

Also on the platter for Spirit is "War Eagles," a project that once belonged to original "Kong" co-directed Merian C. Cooper and visual effects legend Ray Harryhausen. The story follows a fighter pilot who encounters a lost civilization after he crash lands in the arctic. Spirit is also currently exploring cross-media possibilities for both "Kong" and "War Eagles" in the form of video games, graphic novels and toys.

Have you read "Kong: King of Skull Island"? Do either of these ideas excite you?

Tags Kong: King of Skull Island, War Eagles