Peter Jackson Offers Del Toro Whatever Help He Needs For Skull Island, Ponders Lord Of The Rings Remakes

At Comic-Con International: San Diego, before the close of their panel, Legendary Pictures announced Skull Island, a new King Kong film that was rumored at the time of the convention to be directed by Guillermo del Toro (new rumors suggest that it make in fact be Joe Cornish who directs the project).

The last time we saw King Kong on screen was in 2005's King Kong, helmed by Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit director Peter Jackson. During a panel for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies at Comic-Con, Jackson was asked about whether or not he had offered any aid to del Toro on the project. Jackson said the question was the first he had heard of the project, but expressed excitement, a willingness to help, and wondered about the possibilities of seeing his adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's works remade in the future.

"I'll be there on the first day," said Jackson, "I'll help him with whatever help he needs. You know, I always wondered if, in my lifetime, if I would see any of the Lord of the Rings films remade, or The Hobbit remade. Everyone's remaking films, how long is this actually going to last, and survive? With Kong, obviously we were the ones who remade Kong, for the third time, so it will be interesting."

For his part, Andy Serkis, who performed the motion capture for Kong in Jackson's film, was also hearing the news for the first time, noting that nobody had asked him to return to the role as of yet.

Considering Jackson's known love the original King Kong film, it's likely his helpful offer will stand whether it's del Toro, Cornish, or somebody else in Skull Island's director's chair.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies opens in theaters December 17.