While directing The Frighteners (1996), Universal Pictures approached Peter Jackson about remaking King Kong, as they had wanted to do so for decades. After a failed attempt in the 1970’s that was stopped by Dino De Laurentiis acquiring the rights and producing the 1976 remake, Universal thought it was peak time to do so in 1996. Legendary artist Bernie Wrightson was brought in to develop the inhabitants of Skull Island, producing vast amounts of epic concept art.
Aimed for a 1998 release, the project was ultimately cancelled by Universal, with the studio & filmmakers behind the project citing various reasons. Thankfully, after Lord of the Rings, Jackson was able to try again, and we ultimately got the 2005 remake in theatres. Interestingly, Jackson elected to start fresh with the 2005 remake, but did keep a few elements from this draft intact. Below is the original 1996 draft, a huge “What if?” in the monster world.
King_KongPeterJackson_420