Set in 1973, the film follows a team of scientists and Vietnam War soldiers travelling to the uncharted Skull Island and meeting Kong, one of the last of his species of gigantic apes, closely followed by other terrifying creatures.

[7][8] Kong: Skull Island was theatrically released on March 10, 2017, to generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its visual effects, action sequences, and performances, particularly Jackson and Reilly.

In 1973, Bill Randa, head of the organization Monarch, convinces the government to allow him to lead a research expedition to the recently discovered Skull Island.

He recruits a U.S. Army unit commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard, tracker and former British Special Air Service Captain James Conrad, and anti-war photographer Mason Weaver.

The unit is suddenly attacked by the giant ape, scattering the survivors across the island; Conrad, Weaver, Landsat official Nieves, Brooks, researcher and biologist San Lin, and one of the soldiers (Slivko) head north to reach a planned extraction point, while Packard, the rest of his men, Bill and another Landsat official search for Packard's right hand man, Chapman, who is isolated from the group.

Marlow and Brooks attempt to explain that killing Kong would lead to the Skullcrawlers running rampant, but Packard refuses to listen.

[a] Additionally, Eugene Cordero appears as Reles, a Sky Devils warrant officer and Packard's door gunner; Marc Evan Jackson portrays Steve Woodward, a Landsat employee on the expedition; Richard Jenkins portrays Senator Al Willis, a politician who reluctantly funds the expedition; Miyavi portrays Gunpei Ikari, a Japanese World War II pilot who crash-lands on Skull Island alongside Marlow; and Robert Taylor plays the captain of the Athena.

[27] In writing the script, Borenstein did not want to repeat the "Beauty and the Beast" plot synonymous with King Kong movies and took into account the outdated elements of the treatment of the island natives and the damsel in distress.

That's obviously a war movie, but I liked the idea of people moving upriver to face a misunderstood force that they think of as a villain, but ultimately they come to realize is much more complicated.

"Before Vogt-Roberts signed on as director, Borenstein thought of having the film begin during the Vietnam War and jump forward to the present day.

The premise had Tom Hiddleston's character leading a rescue team to Skull Island to find his missing brother, who got stranded there while searching for a "Titan Serum" believed to cure all illnesses.

Liking the Apocalypse Now concept, Vogt-Roberts pitched it to Legendary with the story taking place at the end of the Vietnam War, which the studio accepted.

[34] Director Vogt-Roberts asked Stephen Rosenbaum who hired Carlos Huante to help create the creature design for Kong.

He and the team wanted it to be a combination of new-school and old-school techniques; using keyframe animation to give it the scale that it needed while developing motion-capture facial expressions that added to his character.

[Kong] was a movie monster, so we worked really hard to take some of the elements of the '33 version, some of those exaggerated features, some of those cartoonish and iconic qualities, and then make them their own…We created something that to some degree served as a throwback to the inspiration for what started all of this, but then also [had] it be a fully unique and different creature that – I would like to think – is fully contained and identifiable as the 2017 version of King Kong.

[63] Vogt-Roberts wanted to use songs from the Vietnam era and a myriad of hits from then as it provides a "striking dichotomy, sets the tone and gives us great moments of fun.

"[63] The score was recorded at AIR Lyndhurst Studios with the London Voices and conducted by Gavin Greenaway, with additional music by Alex Belcher, Halli Cauthery, and Stephen Hilton.

On April 7, 2017, Legendary announced a four-issue graphic novel series called Skull Island: The Birth of Kong.

Acting as both a prequel and sequel to the film, an adult Houston Brooks nearing retirement from Monarch in 2012 learns that his missing estranged son with San Lin, Aaron, led a team on a secret mission to Skull Island in the mid-1990s.

The website's consensus reads: "Offering exhilarating eye candy, solid acting, and a fast-paced story, Kong: Skull Island earns its spot in the movie monster's mythos without ever matching up to the classic original.

[88] Michael Phillips of The Chicago Tribune lauded the film, giving it three-and-a-half stars out of four: "I saw little in [Vogt-Roberts'] first feature to indicate the deftness and buoyant spirit he brings to Skull Island.

"[89] Mike Ryan of Uproxx gave the film a positive review, noting, "Kong: Skull Island is still a hoot.

"[91] Kyle Anderson of Nerdist News found the film entertaining but flawed, saying, "It's certainly not a perfect movie, and a lot of the characters feel like sketches more than fully-fledged people, but it roars along enjoyably from start to finish.

"[94] Chris Klimek of NPR mentions how "Kong is at its mediocre best when it pretends to be a nature documentary about Skull Island's bizarro flora and fauna," but lamented how "every time the movie threatens to get interesting, one of its hordes of ersatz, non-animated characters shows up and starts talking again.

"[95] Anthony Lane of The New Yorker noted that what the film "yearns to be, is a pop-culture Apocalypse Now, with the human foe removed, the political parable toned down, and the gonzo elements jacked up.

"[96] J.R. Jones questioned the film's setting, saying "this Jurassic Park knockoff takes place neither in the Depression era, which gave us the original King Kong, nor in the present, when satellite photos would surely alert us to the existence of a 100-foot gorilla.

Instead—and for no reason I can fathom, except perhaps the classic-rock tunes desired for the soundtrack—the story takes place in 1973, when the Vietnam war is winding down and President Nixon is being driven from office.

"[97] Regarding Larson's role in the film, Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post stated that Larson "serves as a cautionary poster girl for aspiring actresses everywhere: One year you're winning an Oscar for a sensitive, skillfully layered performance in an emotionally demanding drama; the next, you're widening your eyes and gasping your way through a great big monkey movie.

"[98] Michael Salfino of The Wall Street Journal remarked, "a starring role in a popcorn movie on the heels of a passion project can open up an actor to ridicule.

"[109] In Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), Joe Morton appears as an older Dr. Houston Brooks, a character originally portrayed by Corey Hawkins in Kong: Skull Island.