‘Kong: Skull Island’ Seeks Out Russell Crowe and Brie Larson

Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts and Legendary Pictures showed tremendous taste by casting Michael Keaton and J.K. Simmons in their upcoming King Kong reboot. Then fate intervened, schedules shifted, and both actors had to depart the project. So how does one go about filling a Keaton/Simmons-shaped hole in a movie? With Russell Crowe and Brie Larson of course.

TheWrap reports that Crowe is being sought to take a role in the film, but he has yet to sign on any dotted lines or make any commitments. A completely separate report has Larson, who just co-starred in Trainwreck, stepping into the film’s female lead.

At the very least, it’s intriguing to watch this film continue its pursuit of legitimately interesting actors. Tom Hiddleston may be playing the human lead, but Vogt-Roberts seems determined to provide him with ludicrously talented back-up. Crowe has had his rough patches, but when he’s on, he’s still one of the best actors working today. We’re sure he’d excel at running from a giant CGI ape. And Larson is one of the most promising young actresses on the Hollywood scene. It was only a matter of time before she landed a major role in an expensive blockbuster

We still don’t know much about Kong: Skull Island beyond the fact that it will take place on the iconic movie monster’s home turf. Heck, we don’t even know whether Crowe is being eyed to take over for Keaton or Simmons (and how weird is it that Crowe could conceivably step into the shoes of either actor?) or how Larson will fit into the movie at all. But we do know that the casting so far has certainly been smart. This could be the most star-studded King Kong movie since, uh, King Kong.

Kong: Skull Island is scheduled for a March 10, 2017 release.