‘Kong: Skull Island’ Casts J.K. Simmons Alongside Tom Hiddleston

J.K. Simmons may not be a household name (yet), but he’s certainly a household face. His mere presence in a movie, whether it be a major character or brief cameo, is enough to bring any audience to attention. Few modern character actors are as good as he is and, as one of the frontrunners for a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his terrifying work in ‘Whiplash,’ he’s about to get some well-deserved recognition. So it shows a great deal of taste on the part of director Jordan Vogt-Robers that he has cast Simmons in the upcoming ‘Kong: Skull Island.’ Seriously, the mere presence of Simmons is just as exciting as a mystical island full of giant apes and dinosaurs.

The news comes to us via Deadline, who report that Simmons is officially set to join the cast.

We don’t know what Simmons’ role in the film will be, but we do know that he’ll star alongside Tom Hiddleston (whose casting also showcases a knack casting for actors people love). As the name of the film implies, ‘Kong: Skull Island’ takes place on the treacherous slab of rock and jungle that is home to King Kong and other giant, man-eating/man-crushing/man-vivisecting creatures. We will say that Hiddleston and Simmons have the makings of a great explorer duo, but until we learn more, saying anything else will be base speculation.

Although ‘Whiplash’ is one of his rare headlining roles, Simmons has been stealing movies and TV shows from their stars for a long time now. His J. Jonah Jameson in the original ‘Spider-Man’ movies is iconic. His work as a straight-and-narrow dad in ‘Juno’ is quietly heartbreaking. His turn as a Nazi inmate in HBO’s ‘Oz’ remains the stuff of nightmares. He’s even won over video games with hilarious voice work in Portal 2. It’s foolish to predict what kind of character he’ll be playing because his range is so stupidly huge; he could play anyone.

‘Kong: Skull Island’ will open on March 10, 2017.