'Kong: Skull Island' premiere date, cast news, plot spoilers: Film set during Vietnam War; lead character suffers from PTSD?
Directed by Jordan Vogt-Robert, "Skull Island" will be set during the time of the Vietnam War. The lead character in the film is a hunter, who is said to be possibly diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
"Kong: Skull Island" will hit theaters this coming March, and it will feature a storyline that is set in the Vietnam War.
The plot posted on Bloody Disgusting reads, "A diverse team of explorers is brought together to venture deep into an uncharted island in the Pacific – as beautiful as it is treacherous – unaware that they're crossing into the domain of the mythic Kong."
Vogt-Robert shared with Empire how he came to place the story of "Kong: Skull Island" in the Vietnam War.
The director said that the story was originally set in 1917, but that gave him a different idea instead. "When I started talking to the Legendary [Entertainment] guys, I was thinking, 'What weird King Kong movie would I want to see?' So I pitched them the Vietnam War connection, literally thinking they were gonna laugh me out of the room. And to Legendary's credit, they said, 'Cool. Let's figure it out,'" Vogt-Robert explained.
He believes that the combination of the Vietnam War and King Kong will produce a fresh mash-up of genres.
Meanwhile, a promo posted on the title's Twitter account featured lead character James Conrad — to be played by Tom Hiddleston — as a hunter who might have PTSD.
The clip showed that Conrad used to work with Australian special forces and that he exhibits signs of shell shock. It is speculated that Hiddleston's character might cause jeopardy on their mission in "Skull Island."
Aside from King Kong, Captain Conrad and his team will also face giant monsters known as skull crawlers. To assist Conrad in "Skull Island" are Toby Kebbell as Major Chapman, Samuel L. Jackson as Lt. Col. Packard, Brie Larson as Weaver, and John Goodman as Bill Randa. Other cast members include John C. Reilly, Jing Tian, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, and Shea Whigham, according to Cinema Blend.
"Kong: Skull Island" will premiere on March 9, 2017.
