entertainment

Meet All The Creatures From The Upcoming 'Kong: Skull Island' Movie

Some of them were inspired by Miyazaki films.

Cover image via MovieWeb

Everyone knows the legend that is 'King Kong'. But have you ever wondered how he earned that title and became a king in the first place?

'Kong: Skull Island' sets out to reveal the iconic beast like never before, giving audiences a glimpse into the mighty ape's origin story, chronicling his fight to maintain peace on his home island and claim his rightful place as king.

With some highly acclaimed crew members such as two-time Oscar-winning senior visual effects supervisor Stephen Rosenbaum ('Avatar', 'Forrest Gump') and Oscar-nominated visual effects supervisor Jeff White ('The Avengers') on board, you can be sure that 'Kong: Skull Island' will bring Kong to life in a never-before-seen scale.

But Kong's not the only beast on the island. Check out these other creatures who also reside on Skull Island:

1. Kong

Image via Toho Kingdom

As the last of his kind, Kong serves as a guardian of the island, keeping its legion of predatory creatures at bay and helping to maintain the balance of its ecosystem. The colossal protector is gentle at heart but will unleash his wrath and ferocity on any who threaten his home, especially outsiders.

Some view him as an enemy, while others as a God. But the one thing that everyone can agree on is that you definitely don't want to mess with this 100-foot living mountain of majesty and sheer force.

2. Skullcrawlers

These reptilian beasts earned their name thanks to their voracious appetite and their habit of picking their victims clean to the bone. And if that isn't enough to scare you, their terrifying skull-like faces will for sure.

The deeper into the island the visitors get, the larger and more dangerous Skullcrawlers they'll have to face. And eventually, they'll have to face the worst of them all: the giant alpha of the species a.k.a Kong's nemesis that slaughtered his family.

3. Mother Longlegs

This is the stuff of nightmares for anyone with a fear of spiders. The gargantuan arachnid is not only about 18-23 feet tall but is also able to perfectly camouflage itself with its surroundings, making it impossible to spot until its too late. It towers high above, as high as the treetops, and spins an iron-strong web down below to trap its unsuspecting prey.

4. Sker Buffalo

Thankfully, not everything on Skull Island is out to get and/or eat you. The beautiful and gentle Sker Buffalo is one of the most peaceful creatures on the island. Through a process of evolution, it is able to stay submerged underwater for days at a time without needing to come up for air. It's back that floats along the water's surface is often mistaken for an island.

5. Mire Squid

Image via Giphy

Just when you think you're safe in the water thanks to the Sker Buffalo, here comes the Mire Squid to dash all your hopes. This hybrid between a squid and an octupus has beak-like jaws with a complex muscle bed that allows it to rotate like fan blades. It doesn't even need to surface to hunt. It lurks down below and swirls its powerful jaws to create a vortex-like whirlpool to suck prey directly into its gaping maw.

6. Spore Mantis

That's spore as in air-borne plant seeds okay, not Singapore lol. And facing this insect is no laughing matter. You'd be wrong to underestimate it as a mere stick insect as it's actually the size of a mature redwood tree, which if you don't know, is pretty darn huge.

The skin covering its body is similar to tree bark and it has a powerful muscle system that allows it to run incredibly fast. It also hosts a large parasite in its trunk that has spiked teeth and bone-crushing jaws.

7. Psychovultures

If you fear nothing else on this list, fear this winged, bat-like predator that may be the first creature on Earth to exhibit signs of psychopathy. A chemical agent it absorbs from eating a poisonous pufferfish only found on Skull Island induces psychoactive effects and drives Psychovultures to destroy any lifeform that crosses its path. It doesn't even spare its own kind, often hunting down other Psychovultures.

Clearly, a lot of thought has been put into creating these creatures. Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts has emphasized just how important they are to the world-building of the movie.

"The creatures are a big thing. If Kong is the God of this island, we wanted each of the creatures to feel like they're individual gods of their own domain. Miyazaki and 'Princess Mononoke' was actually a big reference in the way that the spirit creatures sort of have their own domains and fit within that.

joblo.com

A big thing was trying to design creatures that felt realistic and could exist in an ecosystem that feels sort of wild and out there, and then also design things that simultaneously felt beautiful and horrifying at the same time.

Where if you look at this giant spider or water buffalo, you stare at, a part of you says, 'that's the most amazing thing I've ever seen' and 'oh my god, that's going to kill me right now, I need to run for my life!'"

joblo.com

Looks like we're in for a pretty wild ride! Which creature are you most looking forward to seeing on screen? Let us know in the comments below.

'Kong: Skull Island' will be out in cinemas on 9 March. Don't miss it!

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