Since 2014, Legendary Pictures has been gradually building out its MonsterVerse. Though it’s still planning to have Godzilla and King Kong clash a second time, it’s also making sure both beasts can stand on their own. In the same way Godzilla’s getting a TV spinoff on Apple TV+, so too is Kong with an animated series on Netflix.
Like 2017’s (pretty sweet) Kong: Skull Island movie, the Skull Island animated series focuses on a group of humans who’ve made the mistake of showing up to the titular island. After rescuing a girl named Annie (Mae Whitman) from drowning in the ocean, the explorers end up on Skull Island, which is full of gnarly monsters. But they may end up having a friend in Kong, whose whole deal is to fight other monsters as violently as possible.
The beasts of Skull Island seem to have gotten even more bloodthirsty since the 2017 movie, which makes watching the trailer above kind of darkly funny as some of them get snatched up or put in harm’s way. As for when this takes place in the MonsterVerse timeline, it seems like it’s situated closer to Skull Island the film rather than the 2021 movie, Godzilla vs. Kong. The monster research group Monarch has to go back to the island and establish a foothold in the island at some point, and this series feels like a way to make that happen.
Also starring Benjamin Bratt, Betty Gilpin, and Nicolas Cantu, Skull Island is created, written, and executive produced by Brian Duffield (Cocaine Bear, Love and Monsters). It premieres June 22 on Netflix.
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Editor’s Note: Release dates within this article are based in the U.S., but will be updated with local Australian dates as soon as we know more.