Watching films like “You’re Next” and “The Guest,” it’s clear that Adam Wingard is a talented filmmaker that is more than capable of directing blockbusters. And Legendary clearly thought so too, giving him the reins of “Godzilla vs. Kong.” But apparently, it might have been Peter Jackson who was the first to consider Wingard a potential MonsterVerse filmmaker nearly a decade ago.
According to an interview with /Film, Adam Wingard explained the reason why he was hand-picked to take over the directing duties of “Godzilla vs. Kong.” And the filmmaker thinks it has to do with the seal of approval that was given to him from none other than Peter Jackson back in 2013 when the “King Kong” filmmaker was looking for someone to continue the big ape franchise.
“I think in a lot of ways, the reason for [me not having to do a pitch for ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’], we have to travel back in time to 2013 or so when ‘You’re Next’ was about to come out in theaters,” Wingard said. “Somehow, Peter Jackson had seen an early version of ‘You’re Next,’ and he was interested in me directing a sequel to his ‘King Kong’ film.”
He continued, “It was just going to be called ‘Skull Island.’ Simon Barrett was going to write it. Mary Parent, who runs Legendary now and produced this movie, was on board with that. But this movie was set up at Universal, and the ‘King Kong’ rights somehow ended up at Warner Bros. That movie went to the wayside, and so did I. In a long roundabout way, I think getting that vote of confidence from Peter Jackson stuck in Mary Parent’s mind.”
Obviously, if you’re a fan of the MonsterVerse, you know that back in 2017, Jordan Vogt-Roberts would be called on to helm a film titled “Kong: Skull Island.” And judging by the fact that Jackson’s original sequel film idea was “Skull Island,” we can assume there is some overlap between what Peter Jackson’s idea was and what we ended up seeing in the finished product. So, in that way, it’s interesting to think that maybe there’s a connection between “King Kong” and the current MonsterVerse. If for nothing else, it’s clear that Jackson’s approval of Wingard went a long way in helping the filmmaker land the “Godzilla vs. Kong” feature.
READ MORE: Adam Wingard To Direct ‘ThunderCats’ Movie & Wants To Keep Aesthetic of Original Cartoon
“Godzilla vs. Kong” is now available on HBO Max and in theaters around the world.