Skull Island Trailer: King Kong And The MonsterVerse Go Anime On Netflix
Netflix is about to give the Legendary MonsterVerse the anime treatment with "Skull Island," and frankly, this show looks cool as hell. The first teaser for the series was unveiled today along with news of the show's voice cast, a star-studded ensemble that (per The Hollywood Reporter) includes Mae Whitman ("Avatar: The Last Airbender"), Betty Gilpin ("GLOW"), Benjamin Bratt ("Poker Face"), Darren Barnet ("Never Have I Ever"), and Nicolas Cantu ("The Walking Dead: World Beyond").
/Film's monster-loving team has been wondering for a while now if "Skull Island" will be a period piece a la 2017's "Kong: Skull Island," or take place in the present-day like "Godzilla vs. Kong." Honestly, the 57-second teaser doesn't explicitly answer that question (although the clothes and old-school military chopper do make the case for it being set in the past), but it does provide an excellent preview of the classic monster mash of carnage that keeps us all showing up for this story again and again.
This definitely isn't an island getaway
"You know what they called that place?" a guy who looks a lot like Bobby from "Supernatural" says in the opening shot, dramatically unfolding a map. "Skull Island." Then we're off to the races, with a shot of a giant octopus-like beastie rending a helicopter in two. This show may be animated, but it comes from Powerhouse Animation, the studio that brought us "Castlevania," so it's likely to pack a punch. Its horror bona fides are improved even more by the presence of "Underwater" and "The Babysitter" writer Brian Duffield, who is set to both write and executive produce. Long story short, this might get bloody.
The trailer itself isn't overly-gory, and the animation style actually reminds me of the sort of Saturday morning cartoons I used to watch on UPN back when that channel existed. Still, though, "Skull Island" promises to be intense, with the short teaser also including a giant killer crab, a vaguely humanoid gator, a sharp-taloned red bird, and assorted other monsters and kaiju. It ends with a quick glimpse of Kong himself, leaning down to growl ferociously in the face of a puny human.
Initially synopses for the show indicate that it'll follow a group of people who end up shipwrecked on the island that's home to mysterious, prehistoric beasts like Kong and his pals. In keeping with the familiar lore, it's also a lost island, meaning this crew might be stuck there for a while before anyone stumbles upon them. Viewers can visit "Skull Island" when the series premieres on Netflix on June 22, 2023.