Shared universes are all the rage nowadays, with practically every studio vying to build one or more of their properties into the next hit franchise. Universal is working on reigniting their Monster Universe with this year’s The Mummy, Paramount wants to expand on their already successful Transformers franchises, and in addition to that they’re also attempting a shared Hasbro universe, separate from the Transformers films, which would include the likes of G.I. Joe and the Micronauts.

Not to be left behind, Warner Bros. and Legendary are also developing a shared universe based around giant monsters or kaiju. Growing out of 2014’s Godzilla reboot, their next film is this year’s Kong: Skull Island, followed by a Godzilla sequel, and all leading towards a showdown between the two in 2020’s Kong vs. Godzilla. However, one hit film does not a shared cinematic universe make, and Kong: Skull Island needs a strong performance if WB and Legendary want this kaiju universe to work.

Luckily, Kong: Skull Island has been building solid buzz since it debuted its first trailer at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con. That tease was then followed by a more substantial trailer in the fall, playing up the film’s Apocalypse Now-vibe and revealing a bit more about its human characters. Now we have the film’s Japanese trailer, with a wildly intense narration and a flurry of shots featuring more creatures and beasts than just the title attraction.

Typically, international trailers for Hollywood films don’t have the luxury of being especially flashy or stylistic because their first job is to get a non-English audiences interested in the film. They usually just stick to the basics of the plot, outlining as clearly and simply as possible what can be expected - sometimes even going so far as summarize the movie beat for beat. But this Japanese trailer for Kong: Skull Island is arguably the most exciting one yet! Sure, it’s helped along by the enthusiasm of the narration, but this trailer more than previous ones makes a point of putting Kong’s destruction on full and fiery display.

Kong: Skull Island is directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts (The Kings of Summer) from a script originally written by Max Borenstein (Godzilla [2014]), but has since received revisions from Derek Connolly (Jurassic World), John Gatins (Real Steel) and Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler). And though action and destruction are big focus, particularly in this latest trailer, Kong: Skull Island won’t be entirely humorless. Alongside Kong, the film’s human cast includes Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, and John C. Reilly; all actors more than capable of balancing humor with sheer terror, signalling that Kong: Skull Island could be the fun and thrilling adventure needed to really jumpstart this universe.

Source: Warner Bros. Pictures

  • Kong: Skull Island Release Date: 2017-03-10 Godzilla 2 Release Date: 2019-05-31