One of the most well-known movie monsters is getting a new series on a major streaming platform. Here are the details.
What Happened: King Kong is headed to Disney+, a streaming platform from The Walt Disney Company DIS. The famous gorilla will be part of a live-action series with the working title “King Kong,” as reported by Deadline.
The new series is written by Stephany Folsom and comes from James Wan’s Atomic Monster production company.
“King Kong,” the first live-action series for the character, will focus on the origin story of Kong and the mystery of his home on Skull Island, according to Deadline.
Why It’s Important: King Kong remains a beloved movie character ever since he debuted in the original 1933 film. Several adaptations have been produced over the years, including 2005's “King Kong” from Universal, a unit of Comcast Corporation CMCSA. It grossed $218.1 million domestically and $556.9 million worldwide, according to BoxOfficeMojo.
The 2017 movie “Kong: Skull Island” from Warner Bros. Discovery WBD grossed $168.1 million domestically and $566.7 million worldwide. A sequel, 2021's “Godzilla vs. Kong,” grossed $100.9 million domestically and $470.1 million worldwide.
Wan is one of the highest-grossing movie directors of all-time, raking 19th with $3.7 billion on a list from The Numbers. Wan is known for the Saw, The Conjuring and Insidious horror franchises and also was the director of “Fast and Furious 7” and “Aquaman,” two movies that each grossed over $1 billion worldwide.
Folsom worked on “Paper Girls” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” for Prime Video, a unit of Amazon.com Inc. AMZN.
The new series comes as Disney is working to boost its original offerings on its streaming platform with a price increase and an ad-free version coming later this year. Disney+ ended the third quarter with 152.1 million subscribers.
The cost of Disney+ will increase from $7.99 to $10.99 for the ad-free version later this year with an ad-supported plan being offered at $7.99 per month.
DIS Price Action: Disney shares were up 1% to $116.46 on Wednesday.
Image: Pixabay
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