Brie Larson In Talks For 'Kong: Skull Island'; Russell Crowe Being Courted

Kong: Skull Island is about to welcome some new visitors. Brie Larson is in talks to play the female lead in the fantasy actioner, while Russell Crowe is being courted to play one of the male leads. Tom Hiddleston remains on board to star and Jordan Vogt-Roberts is directing. More on the Russell Crowe and Brie Larson Kong Skull Island news after the jump. Deadline broke the news. The potential new casting is an encouraging step forward for the project, which lost Michael Keaton and J.K. Simmons to scheduling conflicts earlier this month. Crowe is being looked at to replace one of them, though it's not clear which one. He'll make a decision on whether or not to sign on after the next draft of the screenplay comes in.

Written by John Gatins and Max Borenstein, Kong: Skull Island is officially described as follows:

KONG: SKULL ISLAND will fully immerse audiences in the mysterious and dangerous home of the king of the apes as a team of explorers ventures deep inside the treacherous, primordial island. Legendary's story honors the foundations of existing King Kong lore, but places it in an entirely new, distinct timeline.

Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni of Legendary are producing Kong: Skull Island with Mary Parent. Alex Garcia and Eric McLeod serve as executive producer. Production is expected to begin late this year or early next year for release on March 10, 2017.

Larson can currently be seen in Judd Apatow and Amy Schumer's Trainwreck, and recently wrapped Ben Wheatley's Free Fire. Her other upcoming releases include the literary adaptation Room and Todd Solondz's Weiner-Dog.

Despite her consistently excellent performances in films as varied as Short Term 12 and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Larson has never been quite as well known as she deserved to be. Perhaps a big-budget spectacle like Kong: Skull Island will be just the thing to take her career to the next level.

Crowe is coming off of the wartime tearjerker The Water Diviner, which also served as his feature directing debut. Next up for him are the Shane Black thriller The Nice Guys and the family drama Fathers and Daughters.