‘Kong: Skull Island’ Star Tom Hiddleston Teases ‘Heroic’ Character and a Kong Like We’ve Never Seen Before

There have been plenty of casting announcements and rumors regarding Kong: Skull Island, but there’s still so much we don’t know about Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ upcoming take on the iconic movie monster. Enter Tom Hiddleston, who has opened up a bit about what we can expect from the journey to Skull Island, in which he’ll play a more heroic character for a change.

The actor best known for playing mischievous villain Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is going to play a more heroic character in Kong: Skull Island. While Hiddleston couldn’t reveal much in his chat with Collider, he did say that he’s playing one of the good guys this time around. He also teased some epic sequences, as well as a version of King Kong unlike anything we’ve seen before:

Well, Kong: Skull Islandis the next thing on the books. It’s so exciting. I’ve been digging around in some dark material, to be honest. There’s something very heroic about my character in Skull Island. He’s an adventurer, he’s an explorer. I mean, it’s aKing Kong film. There we go. [laughs]

The way Jordan Vogt-Roberts has conceived of it, there’s something in there which I find very compelling about King Kong as an emblem of the power of nature in some way, and man’s relationship to it. I think he’s got just brilliant ideas about exploring that. Incredible sequences, a particular context they put King Kong in that you’ve never see him in before, so I’m really excited.

Amazing actors. I’m working with Brie Larson, Corey Hawkins, and Jason Mitchell from Straight Outta Compton are going to be in it.

While Hiddleston couldn’t reveal the exact time period for the film, he did also confirm that it takes place in “a period.” When J.K. Simmons was previously signed on to star, the actor revealed that it’s set in 1971 and that at least some of the film would take place in Detroit — either or both of those things may no longer be true, of course.

Kong: Skull Island is prepping to begin shooting in Hawaii this October, with John C. Reilly and Samuel L. Jackson reportedly in talks for additional roles. The film is set to hit theaters on March 20, 2017. Hiddleston can be seen next as iconic country star Hank Williams in the biopic I Saw the Light, and in Guillermo del Toro’s gothic horror film Crimson Peak.