Godzilla Vs Kong: A History of Kong’s Evolution

Godzilla Vs. Kong has finally arrived, giving fans the ability to watch the giant lizard square off with the massive ape via HBO Max or in theaters, so what better time than now to dive into the history of the ruler of Skull Island that made his first appearance in the 1930s. With Legendary Pictures giving Kong his first appearance in this new universe via the feature-length film Kong: Skull Island, he has become the perfect enemy for the current king of the monsters, especially with a new high-powered ax at his disposal.

What is your favorite iteration of Kong from the giant ape’s past in the world of the silver screen? Do you think we’ll see Legendary’s take on the king of the jungle make his way into a future film? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of kaiju.

1933’s King Kong

The first appearance of Kong was the film that started it all and remains one of the most popular movies to ever be released, with its stop motion animation and focus on giant monsters wowing audiences during this early era of the silver screen. Kong himself is taken from Skull Island and brought to the United States as little more than an attraction, eventually freeing himself and going on a rampage before he is ultimately brought down by the authorities. Though there was a sequel in Son of Kong released only a few months later, it followed a much smaller progeny of the legendary primate. 

1962’s King Kong Vs Godzilla

Rather than relying on stop motion animation for the majority of the film as the original King Kong movie had done, the kaiju crossover saw Kong depicted by a man wearing a monster costume, testing his strength against the lizard king at the time in Godzilla. Ironically enough, the movie was pitched as “King Kong Vs. Frankenstein”, with the role of the creation of Victor Frankenstein shifting to Godzilla. The film had the two monsters at around the same height, though the film makers believed that giving Kong strange abilities like absorbing electricity would even the playing field. 

1967’s King Kong Escapes

Following the success of the previous crossover that saw the giant lizard and ape duel, Toho once again dived into the world of Kong with King Kong Escapes released a few years later. Focusing on a Kong that is once again brought to life via a man wearing an ape suit, the film also introduced a new threat to King Kong in the form of “Mechani-Kong”, a double to Godzilla’s metallic doppelganger in Mechagodzilla. This would make for the last time that we saw Kong in a Toho Studios production, but far from the last time we saw the giant ape hit the silver screen. 

1976’s King Kong

The first full remake, but far from the last, of the original King Kong, the 1976 reboot followed the same structure as the original films in the 1930s, with a number of explorers bringing back Kong to a location that he was far from familiar with. As the story follows the original beat for beat, it wasn’t nearly as well received but gave us a new take on the ruler of Skull Island using the far superior special effects of the time. 

1986’s King Kong Lives

A direct sequel to the 1976 that landed ten years later, the next chapter in this take on the primate king introduced the idea of Kong raising a family, with the bomb drop that he didn’t die during the previous movie. The movie itself sets up a female counterpart for Kong, with the two having a son of their own, but unfortunately, Kong simply could not help but be targeted by the military and is destroyed right as he was able to witness the birth of his offspring.  

2005’s King Kong

Easily considered to be the best remake of the original 1933 film, Peter Jackson’s take on the ruler of Skull Island was easily the slickest looking take on the giant ape that we had seen up to that date. Incorporating some of the biggest names in Hollywood at the time including Naomi Watts, Adrian Brody, and Jack Black, the film told a blockbuster story that painted Kong as an ape that walked and moved like the primates we know rather than typically on his own two feet.

2017’s Kong: Skull Island

The movie that gave us our first look at Legendary Pictures’ take on the giant ape, the “Monster-Verse” set the stage for Kong to fight against Godzilla by dropping him into the same universe as the world that was already drowning in giant kaiju. The Kong that we see in this first installment was shown in the 1970s, with characters remarking that he still had some serious growing to do, with the current iteration of the Skull Island denizen being big enough to give the king of the monsters pause. 

2021’s Godzilla Vs. Kong

Kong has seen some serious changes since first appearing in the 2017 Legendary Picture, now facing down Godzilla with both of them sharing around the same size and the King of Skull Island wielding a glowing battle-ax to help even the score. While Kong’s future is still anyone’s guess as the giant ape has yet to be confirmed in any film following this titanic crossover, this latest movie gave us the most deadly and jaw dropping version of the ape to date.