Quick edit: "But Diego, how was the spider pit sequence never filmed, but it's shown in the video???" No, that's not the original spider pit scene. That's a recreation of the scene that was made by Peter Jackson in 2005. It's labeled everytime it's on screen. Happy (late) New Years everyone! Hope you all had a good holiday! Thank you all so much for watching and I hope you enjoyed the video. 2024 is already looking to be off to a good start as far as content goes. Thank you all so much for the support you've shown the channel in 2023. Because of it, we got to 80k subscribers! Looking forward to whatever milestones we hit this year! If you want to support the channel in other ways, you could always check out my new Patreon page: www.patreon.com/DinoDiego5 Once again, thank you all so much for watching and have a nice day.
The thing that’s funny about Toho’s attempt at a remake is, from what I understand, Toho went to Turner for the rights since iirc at the time they owned the original film but they could’ve used the character anyway without their approval because of a similar reason to how legendary uses Kong.
How can Legendary use Kong? I’m sorry, I’m just not up to date with the licenses or why they could use him without permission! Is it because he’s seen as a non-discriminate giant creature? Like you can’t copyright a huge gorilla?
@@travisromero9528 You can't copyright a huge gorilla, but you can copyright the name "King Kong". As far as how Legendary is able to use him, I'm not entirely sure. Could've been some sort of deal worked out between them and another studio or something of the like. King Kong's rights complications are enough to fill an entire video on its own.
@@travisromero9528King Kong the character is public domain, King Kong as a brand is still protected under trademark, plus the original movie is still copyrighted You can use King Kong, as long as you don't remake any aspects from the 33 movie, or use the name King Kong in the name of the product (Like that shity Kong game from last year)
@@DinoDiego16 I’m screenshotting the response from Dino Diego, this is the coolest thing ever! But thank you Jesus, that makes a lot of sense. I forgot that right now the character is “Kong” in the monsterverse, not King Kong. Coolest day ever! I get a reply from one of my favorite content creators and learn more about an awesome movie monster
@@DinoDiego16 that's explain why there are a lot of giant ape characters that either parody of Kong or independent serious works but take inspiration from it
4:15 Creation 12:17 1933's King Kong original story 19:48 The missing spider pit scene 28:06 King Kong made in Japan 30:06 The New Adventures of King Kong 31:07 The Lost Island 32:30 Tarzan vs King Kong 33:53 King Kong Appears in Edo 35:25 Abbot and Costello meet King Kong 37:27 The 8th Wonder 38:34 King Kong vs Frankenstein 43:35 Baboon: A Tale About A Yeti 46:31 Continuation King Kong vs Godzilla 49:22 Operation Robinson Crusoe: King Kong vs. Ebirah 50:54 Hammer Films King Kong 52:07 Space Kong 54:14 ABC's King Kong 55:37 The Legend of King Kong 1:01:52 Roger Corman's King Kong 1:02:51 Baby Kong 1:04:19 1976's King Kong original story 1:05:31 possible sequels for 1976's King Kong 1:07:21 King Kong vs Godzilla Remake 1:08:44 Godzilla vs Mechani Kong 1:10:11 2005s King Kong Original story AKA King Kong (1996) 1:18:00 Skull Island 1:19:37 Kong Skull Island's original story 1:21:26 Outro
For the unmade Kong films,I have a soft spot for the one that featured "Triclonius". As for Monsterverse,My biggest gripe would be their reluctance to feature monsters based on non-avian dinosaurs just to avoid competitions from Jurassic Franchise or other previous Kong film. From my point of view,Dinosaurs are an essential,even foundamental part in both Godzilla and Kong. While not every incarnation of Godzilla was directly related to dinosaurs,the design of Godzilla itself was based on at least three kinds of dinosaurs:T.rex,Iguanodon,Stegosaurus. Not to mention there are many classic Toho monsters that are related to dinosaurs. Such as Anguirus, Gorosaurus,Titanosaurus, Baragon(Some side materials would speculate the Kaiju being descendants of Ceratopsians.), Varan(Its full species name was Varanopoda,some side materials would classify Varanopoda as dinosaur.)
It's reasoning for being cancelled due to Godzilla '98 and Mighty Joe Young was a copout. Considering Mighty Joe Young was a flop, and Godzilla a huge drop and the obvious negative backlash from fans, I feel Kong would've made it on top as the crowning success in 1998.
For the spider pit section I was so confused. Because you showed us footage of a spider pit scene, then had the podcast saying it wasn't filmed. For anyone else confused. The footage shown was a recreation done by WETA Workshop and Peter Jackson, using period appropriate tech, and the same stop-motion techniques used in the 33 film.
I was confused about that too. The fact that WETA did "period appropiate" Kong-like scenes just for fun or something is CRAZY by itself. Like they could make a "new old" dinosaur movie is amazing. Why is nobody working on that?
@@Rodrigo_Vega Well, it started out as something they were doing for the DVD, a brief thing of Kong to show how it was done in the old days. Then someone got to thinking about doing the Spider Pit just for fun
Fantastic video! I had no idea that there were that many cancelled Kong films. Would've really liked to have seen Creation and the Frankenstein film. Though I guess if they were made then there's a decent chance the 1933 film and by extension King Kong vs. Godzilla wouldn't have been made. Wouldn't be against someone reviving Creation down the line.
A well done retrospective. As someone who first covered these canceled projects in 2017, I tip my hat off to you in expanding the research and looking at the Kong Unmade books which I assisted briefly when I could. I got some new Kongtent coming to TH-cam soon. Feel free to reach out. 😊
Having gotten a copy of King Kong vs Tarzan, the interesting thing is that it's somewhat of a mixture of both "Tarzan vs King Kong" and "The New Adventures of King Kong". It is a thoroughly engaging book (not a comic, but see later) that sticks to the style established by Burroughs himself, while also tying it to the "King Kong of Skull Island" books and comics. I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of either franchise.
i find harryhausen's giant frankenstein monster to be a fascinating concept. it should have starred in it's own film, or as the giant monster in an adaptation of "the colosus of ylourgne" by clark ashton-smith
It’s actually Willis o briens not harryhausen he wasn’t working with Willis on that project in 1962 and ever since he died harryhausen does bring back one of his unmade movie “gwangi” which soon became the movie the valley of gwangi
I just ended up eating a whole Kong channel content and now Dino Diego comes up with this! I don't care if there's information i've have alredy seen, I'LL WATCH IT AGAIN BECAUSE OF BIG-BRO DINO DIEGO! LET'S GOOOO!!!
It's good that King Kong and Frankenstein project was never made because that's what allowed Godzilla to become the star. You could get one or the other.
There are a few mistakes here and there. Maybe LeMay's updated book clarifies that. Also his Writing Japanese Monsters presents a different version of the production of Toho's Frankenstein and Kong movies from the 60s.
1:03:06 I'm surprised you didn't do a Super Mario Bros. joke right there. A King Kong movie made by Mario & Luigi made in the same budget as their plumbing commercial. 🤣
I'm currently working on my own King Kong script that while similar to the 1996 King Kong has alot more dinosaurs, wildlife and characters and more focus on the Natives. I'm working on making it a visual Novel and if it does well I'm gonna try to make it a 2d Animated Film in the style of the Disney Renaissance
This sounds really interesting and unique! And you're doing this on your own? If so you must be really talented! Also Will the natives be different from what's shown the films and focus onf their culture and such? Good luck nonetheless!
Coming back to this video cause it is just, very good. One thing to note about the spider pit sequence is that Morton’s claims about the scene never being shot contradict basically all documentation with have of the scene from around that time, including the films original theater program, which wouldn’t have mentioned it if it hadn’t ever been filmed. Theres also references to it in cinematic publications referring to early test screenings. And should also be noted animation didn’t have individual listings for filming, it was all under “technical filming”. So it being crossed out/not on the shooting script is meaningless. The Classic Horror Film Board has a great discussion thread on it. While it certainly never made its way to any release prints, the scene was absolutely filmed and cut late in production. Morton is a good author, but he conclusions on this matter are based on a very narrow and reductive view on the actual evidence we have at hand.
never knew that the original King Kong was intended to be a realistic documentary furthermore that the famous ape kidnap scene was based on a real world event which is amazing.
Given the original King Kong Novel from 1932 is in the public domain as it was never Copyrighted by RKO, who knows what other adaptations are being made or planned as we speak. As long as you follow the original novel and story and avoid any old and modern adaptations, you'll be legally fine. But its best to consult a lawyer or copyright expert on this subject. One artist I know named Hewy Lewis has his own project based on Kong. He also has several other projects dedicated to public domain stories and myths.
Only 5 more years and the 95-year copyright of the original movie itself will expire. THEN everyone can go wild with making their own Kong movies (as long as you avoid the trademarked name King Kong).
Kong been known to be public domain since at least the 80s as Universal discovered the novel aspect when RKO tried to sue them for the rights. But the original film wasn’t so Universal is able to shut down anyone that “adapts the novel” because it’s derivative of the film. It’s why every project that isn’t universal since then has used the name Kong instead.
There may be more of it to appear in the future, who knows? I've always just been fascinated with King Kong, but the history of Kaiju media is pretty cool as a whole
@@DinoDiego16 I actually can't remember if you've covered this before, but the book World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island has so much good stuff to go through
@@Boneworm852I haven't covered it in a video, but I do have the book and I definitely agree. There's definitely a lot of content there to go off of. Might do something with it in the future
Oh Hell yes! You keep delivering such awesome videos when there's nothing else to watch on the weekends. Plus, John Lemay is a friend of mine and I appreciate you giving him a shout out at the start of this episode!
King Kong vs Frankenstein is a pretty awesome and dope idea tbh A monster made out of animals dead bodies and stitched to form a giant meaty Monster to meet a giant Gorilla and later go on a fight and fall in the ocean from the golden gate bridge
It's wild how beloved Godzilla films came at the hands of failed Kong movies and how it seemed like even Toho at one point viewed Kong more of a success than Godzilla
I follow a few channels and they occasionally cover things like unmade movies. Because of the timespan of these unmade movies, it makes them really interesting to learn about. I hope you hit 100K soon and can give yourself another goal to aim for for next year.
An interview with Marcel Delgado (who created and maintained the models used in many of O'Brien's films) I have been studying suggests that the 100 minute version is the complete version of the film.
Out of all of these, I'm the saddest we never got to see orcas take down the abominable snowman. That sounds awesome and incredibly accurate to real life
I prefer when Kong is a giant gorilla-like creature, instead of just a giant gorilla the way Peter Jackson's version portrayed him. I like how that early script had Kong taking Ann to protect her from a human man (instead of a racist reason), and also breaking free In New York for that again.
I also prefer Kong's original depiction as an ape-like creature rather than an ordinary gorilla. It follows with what Cooper and O'Brien were after in making Kong more human. The 1933 film is a sublime classic; no remake will ever surpass it.
Chapter Selection: 0:00 Intro 4:15 *"CREATION"* (1931) 12:18 *"1933's KING KONG Original Story"* 28:06 *"KING KONG Made in Japan"* (1933) 30:06 *"The New Adventures of KING KONG"* (1933-1934) 31:08 *"THE LOST ISLAND"* (1934) 32:30 *"TARZAN vs KING KONG"* (1934) 33:53 *"KING KONG Appears in Edo"* (1938) 35:25 *"Abbott & Costello Meet KING KONG"* (1940s) 37:27 *"THE 8TH WONDER"* (1952) 38:34 *"KING KONG vs FRANKENSTEIN"* (1958/1962) 43:35 *"BABOON: A Tale About a Yeti"* (1962) 46:31 *"Continuation:* *KING KONG vs GODZILLA"* (1963) 49:22 *"Operation Robinson Crusoe:* *KING KONG vs EBIRAH"* (1966) 50:54 *"Hammer Films' KING KONG"* (1966/1972) 52:08 *"SPACE KONG"* (1969) 54:14 *"ABC's KING KONG"* (1974) 55:37 *"The Legend of KING KONG"* (1975/1976) 1:01:53 *"Roger Corman's KING KONG"* (1975) 1:02:52 *"BABY KONG"* (1976) 1:04:18 *"1976's KING KONG Original Story"* 1:05:31 *"Possible Sequels for* *1976's KING KONG"* 1:07:22 *"KING KONG vs GODZILLA Remake"* (1991) 1:08:44 *"GODZILLA vs MECHANI-KONG"* (1991) 1:10:11 *"2005's KING KONG Original Story"* 1:18:00 *"SKULL ISLAND"* (2013) 1:19:37 *"KONG: Skull Island Original Story"* (2016) 1:21:26 Conclusion
There was also going be a film titled either "Joe Meets Tarzan" or "Tarzan Meets Mighty Joe Young", a sequel to "Mighty Joe Young" (1949) that was never made.
Loved the video, YT needs more King King history videos! I've heard before that 20 minutes of Creation had been filmed before cancelation but I was always under the impression that only 4 minutes was made. Which I'm sure would've been inserted into the final product but it was meant to be a test for O'Brien to match the stop-motion animation with live-action.
That's what some accounts say at least. 20 minutes total, more specifically of test footage iirc, with only 4 minutes that have survived (along with alleged clips that have appeared in other RKO works, though its not confirmed from my understanding). Definitely would've been cool to see Creation become a reality though. Thank you for the kind words!
Would love too see an updated version of the Gargantuas, legendary films should interdouce them into the Monsterverse. Maybe as a subspecies of King Kong s bloodline
Hah, that spider pit scene and two legged lizards are very interesting ideas, were they directly the inpiration for PJ King Kong's unerving bug pit scene and King Kong Skull Island's Skullcrawlers?
Wow, I M shocked the original story of the 2005 King Kong movie was going to be made and released in 1996, but Roland Emmerichs Godzilla and the Mighty Joe Young remake caused the Kong 96 remake to be postponed. I did not want to believe it at first that there was going to be a '96 Kong remake but was changed for the reason.
Well, this is a surprising turn of events with YT's algorithm. I'm glad I got to this video since it was such an enjoyable view and then went to a couple of other videos and I find your narration and style of videos entertaining. I find the thought of Kong's proposed projects to be a topic I never gave much attention as much as Godzilla's and I did knew of some that had a connection to it but still, it was fascinating to know of the giant Kong. Props for the video. Consider me subbed and following your content from now on.
Another cancelled King Kong movie was "Baby Kong" by legendary Italian director Mario Bava. It was not filmed presumably for the simultaneous release of De Laurentiis' 1977 movie
Man, concept arts for 1933 King Kong was... something - especially around begging of (infamous) Hays' Codex. From 1:19:36 - it was good thing that original opening for Kong: Skull Island was dropped. I can only imagine flame war between fans of '05 King Kong and new one.
I came across a video on TH-cam that contained Creation's test footage along with Ray Harryhausen's commentary, likely from some special features material. Here's the link to the video: th-cam.com/video/3IMR9i_0Om4/w-d-xo.htmlsi=-5-wD8h-4LzrCKX1
22:39 that would've been a great transition shot between Kong's attack on the train and the scene where they suggest shooting him off the empire state building
Some ask why a giant gorilla named king kong got so popular? In the early 1900s the Gorilla had only just been recognized by the scientific community as an actual living creature, the fact that these giant apes existed took the world by storm as it was previously comparable to bigfoot. There's also the "ape element" making it more relatable to us vs giant squids or dinosaurs.
I tip my hat to you for the research that went into this video. I’ve been a fan of Kong my entire life but I hadn’t ever heard of even half of those failed attempts until now. I agree that some of them could have been good movies, and I’ve always been especially fascinated by the story of the Creation film.
I remember first finding out about about the 90s Peter Jackson remake and being extremely disappointed because I would have much rather had this version of the film. I still like the 2005 film, but the 90s version seemed way more interesting.
An interesting note about the King Kong vs Godzilla remake and Godzilla vs Mechani Kong films: the idea of making Godzilla’s opponent a cyborg and bringing back a popular enemy of the big G was incorporated into that years Godzilla vs King Ghidorah. Also Mechani-Kong was Koichi Kawakita’s favorite monster (special effects director of the Heisei era Godzilla films and funnily enough got his start at Toho with the original King Kong vs Godzilla) and the unused Mechan-Kong design was repurposed for the monster Bulgaria in the tokusatsu series the Justifiers and Super Fleet Sazer X the Movie, which Kawakita did the special effects on. Also fun fact: Mechani-Kong was the inspiration for Mechagodzilla as a character, and both Mechas interestingly enough fought Godzilla in Kodansha’s Godzilla King of the Monsters manga
@@DinoDiego16 It's a personal favorite of mine, too (😊). And I like how in the newer Kong films of the _Monsterverse,_ the character's been allowed to stay _rooted_ traditionally, but also change.
When Skull Island was announced there was slo a rumored about Tom Hiddleston character going to Skull Island in search of his brother, who went there looking for something called the 'titaan serum'
Regarding the scenes not being filmed. The historian is right, if you look at the filming schedule, which is a table of contents for the work for each scene, if the missing scenes aren’t on the call sheets or schedule then they definitely never happened.
I'm inclined to believe that considering that seems to more solidly prove that the scene didn't get made than whatever evidence we've heard of the scene actually being made. But at the end of the day, I'm keeping an open mind to any possibility because you just never know
I would love to see the unmade King Kong movie that Deep Rising was a prequal to. Other ones I would like to see made, Abbott and Costello meet King Kong The iligiitimate Son of King Kong, daughter of King Kong, Space Kong, Bionic Kong in Moscow, and King Kong Vs Orca
Just for fun, what's your favorite version of King Kong. Personally, although I know I'm going to get flamed for this, I think the Monsterverse version is the best one.
I think you missed one: *Kong rising.* It was apparently supposed to be directed by Stephen Sommers and it would have been a sequel to his other monster movie, Deep rising, which ends with the characters stranded on Skull Island.
Because a couple of these films involve Orcas. And one of the planned films flat out would have had Kong fighting the Orca from the 1977 film of the same name.
The fact Jim Danforth refused Delaurentiis’ carte blanque offer for some creature in Paramount’s movie, is something hard forgive imo. We could have had a bit more thrill and fun.
What did i miss, what’s all that stop motion clips that looks like it’s very much the lost spider pit scene. And they shoulda left it in, yeah it’s break from the actual story but it’s creepy AF and worked well in 2005s version even though it’s a bit changed up with killer leeches.
Hey Diego! Obviously I'm a big, big fan of King Kong, hence why I'm here 🤣But I just wanted to say, as big a fan as I am, I'd somehow never even heard of the original 1933 movie novelization. I found out it was reprinted by The Modern Library (an imprint of Random House that usually focuses on more traditionally "classic" reprints like Jules Verne and Nathaniel Hawthorne), and that was incredibly shocking. Then you mentioned it was in the public domain, and it all made sense. 😛Regardless, because of this video, I've now bought a copy of that edition, and that's why I love watching your stuff. You get me to spend money on amazing things I've never heard of before. 😉
there a gyro/burger joint in Omaha Nebraska called King Kong Universal tried to sue them for using the name, but failed since they never properly copy writed it - in 2000 the owner got the right to use King Kong as a food mascot he then later sued Burger King for trying to promote the new King Kong movie since he owns the fast food rights!
No fucking way. ABBOTT and COSTELLO were going to have a crossover with King Kong?!?!?!? HOW HAVE I NEVER HEARD OF THIS UNTIL TODAY?!?!?!?! I LOVE Abbott and Costello films!!!! That crossover would have been absolutely hilarious to watch!
Quick edit:
"But Diego, how was the spider pit sequence never filmed, but it's shown in the video???"
No, that's not the original spider pit scene. That's a recreation of the scene that was made by Peter Jackson in 2005. It's labeled everytime it's on screen.
Happy (late) New Years everyone! Hope you all had a good holiday! Thank you all so much for watching and I hope you enjoyed the video. 2024 is already looking to be off to a good start as far as content goes. Thank you all so much for the support you've shown the channel in 2023. Because of it, we got to 80k subscribers! Looking forward to whatever milestones we hit this year!
If you want to support the channel in other ways, you could always check out my new Patreon page: www.patreon.com/DinoDiego5
Once again, thank you all so much for watching and have a nice day.
Can you do on unmade godzilla movies
@@robertbermudez4526I'm not against the idea, but I probs won't get to it anytime soon. But I'll keep it in mind!
@@DinoDiego16 ok but do unmade american remake version of godzilla 1994 instead
@@DinoDiego16i hope Adam wingard use dinosaurs from kong skull island script be use in godzilla x kong the new empire in the hollow earth
What is the footage at 20:43 if the spider footage was never filmed.
The thing that’s funny about Toho’s attempt at a remake is, from what I understand, Toho went to Turner for the rights since iirc at the time they owned the original film but they could’ve used the character anyway without their approval because of a similar reason to how legendary uses Kong.
How can Legendary use Kong? I’m sorry, I’m just not up to date with the licenses or why they could use him without permission! Is it because he’s seen as a non-discriminate giant creature? Like you can’t copyright a huge gorilla?
@@travisromero9528 You can't copyright a huge gorilla, but you can copyright the name "King Kong". As far as how Legendary is able to use him, I'm not entirely sure. Could've been some sort of deal worked out between them and another studio or something of the like. King Kong's rights complications are enough to fill an entire video on its own.
@@travisromero9528King Kong the character is public domain, King Kong as a brand is still protected under trademark, plus the original movie is still copyrighted
You can use King Kong, as long as you don't remake any aspects from the 33 movie, or use the name King Kong in the name of the product (Like that shity Kong game from last year)
@@DinoDiego16 I’m screenshotting the response from Dino Diego, this is the coolest thing ever! But thank you Jesus, that makes a lot of sense. I forgot that right now the character is “Kong” in the monsterverse, not King Kong. Coolest day ever! I get a reply from one of my favorite content creators and learn more about an awesome movie monster
@@DinoDiego16 that's explain why there are a lot of giant ape characters that either parody of Kong or independent serious works but take inspiration from it
4:15 Creation
12:17 1933's King Kong original story
19:48 The missing spider pit scene
28:06 King Kong made in Japan
30:06 The New Adventures of King Kong
31:07 The Lost Island
32:30 Tarzan vs King Kong
33:53 King Kong Appears in Edo
35:25 Abbot and Costello meet King Kong
37:27 The 8th Wonder
38:34 King Kong vs Frankenstein
43:35 Baboon: A Tale About A Yeti
46:31 Continuation King Kong vs Godzilla
49:22 Operation Robinson Crusoe: King Kong vs. Ebirah
50:54 Hammer Films King Kong
52:07 Space Kong
54:14 ABC's King Kong
55:37 The Legend of King Kong
1:01:52 Roger Corman's King Kong
1:02:51 Baby Kong
1:04:19 1976's King Kong original story
1:05:31 possible sequels for 1976's King Kong
1:07:21 King Kong vs Godzilla Remake
1:08:44 Godzilla vs Mechani Kong
1:10:11 2005s King Kong Original story AKA King Kong (1996)
1:18:00 Skull Island
1:19:37 Kong Skull Island's original story
1:21:26 Outro
You dropped this 👑
Thank you so much for this comment!
THANK YOU BRO
IMO, a giant version of Boris Karloff's Frankenstein fighting King Kong is a helluva lost opportunity.
Universal hear me out
For the unmade Kong films,I have a soft spot for the one that featured "Triclonius". As for Monsterverse,My biggest gripe would be their reluctance to feature monsters based on non-avian dinosaurs just to avoid competitions from Jurassic Franchise or other previous Kong film. From my point of view,Dinosaurs are an essential,even foundamental part in both Godzilla and Kong. While not every incarnation of Godzilla was directly related to dinosaurs,the design of Godzilla itself was based on at least three kinds of dinosaurs:T.rex,Iguanodon,Stegosaurus. Not to mention there are many classic Toho monsters that are related to dinosaurs. Such as Anguirus, Gorosaurus,Titanosaurus, Baragon(Some side materials would speculate the Kaiju being descendants of Ceratopsians.), Varan(Its full species name was Varanopoda,some side materials would classify Varanopoda as dinosaur.)
Honestly I’d love to see the monster verse ether pull from the crazy stuff from Palaeozoic or cenozoic
I would love to see a Monsterverse version of Gorosaurus!
Since the Jurassic Park series is over for now the monsterverse finally has an opportunity to bring dinosaur related creatures into their movies.
Would be interesting to see Legendary films, to bring back the Redesarus from the The Beast from 20.000 fathoms
And have him go up against Kong
I wonder if you do Godzilla next with a huge history of unmade movie
Ooh yes. Shotaro Ishinomori must’ve conceived a few cancelled movies besides his own Messenger from Space/San Ku Kai franchise.
Can’t wait for the Batman segment
That would need to be a multi parter lol
there's like 15 videos already on that topic
I think the 1996 version is probably the one that should never be canceled
It's reasoning for being cancelled due to Godzilla '98 and Mighty Joe Young was a copout. Considering Mighty Joe Young was a flop, and Godzilla a huge drop and the obvious negative backlash from fans, I feel Kong would've made it on top as the crowning success in 1998.
@@brandonspain12345 I don't think it was a copout, more like they not wanting to risk ANOTHER failure
For the spider pit section I was so confused. Because you showed us footage of a spider pit scene, then had the podcast saying it wasn't filmed. For anyone else confused. The footage shown was a recreation done by WETA Workshop and Peter Jackson, using period appropriate tech, and the same stop-motion techniques used in the 33 film.
Yeah, that's why I labeled it. I figured it would be good to give some visual reference to what I was talking about
@@DinoDiego16 You totally did! I was so enamored by the footage I didn't even register the label ahahah.
I was confused about that too. The fact that WETA did "period appropiate" Kong-like scenes just for fun or something is CRAZY by itself. Like they could make a "new old" dinosaur movie is amazing. Why is nobody working on that?
@@Rodrigo_Vega Well, it started out as something they were doing for the DVD, a brief thing of Kong to show how it was done in the old days. Then someone got to thinking about doing the Spider Pit just for fun
Fantastic video! I had no idea that there were that many cancelled Kong films. Would've really liked to have seen Creation and the Frankenstein film. Though I guess if they were made then there's a decent chance the 1933 film and by extension King Kong vs. Godzilla wouldn't have been made. Wouldn't be against someone reviving Creation down the line.
Damn. Didn't expect pig pen to comment
A well done retrospective. As someone who first covered these canceled projects in 2017, I tip my hat off to you in expanding the research and looking at the Kong Unmade books which I assisted briefly when I could. I got some new Kongtent coming to TH-cam soon. Feel free to reach out. 😊
Ha! Kongtent. Nice.
Having gotten a copy of King Kong vs Tarzan, the interesting thing is that it's somewhat of a mixture of both "Tarzan vs King Kong" and "The New Adventures of King Kong".
It is a thoroughly engaging book (not a comic, but see later) that sticks to the style established by Burroughs himself, while also tying it to the "King Kong of Skull Island" books and comics. I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of either franchise.
I love how Frankenstein's monster has wrinkles like an elephant which makes sense since it's made from large animal parts.
i find harryhausen's giant frankenstein monster to be a fascinating concept. it should have starred in it's own film, or as the giant monster in an adaptation of "the colosus of ylourgne" by clark ashton-smith
Aw hell yeah, you could make a whole series out of Smith's Averoigne stories.
It was actually Willis O Brian’s
Idea for the creature
It’s actually Willis o briens not harryhausen he wasn’t working with Willis on that project in 1962 and ever since he died harryhausen does bring back one of his unmade movie “gwangi” which soon became the movie the valley of gwangi
What a mad lad, an hour and a half video about unmade monke films. Mad Respect.
I just ended up eating a whole Kong channel content and now Dino Diego comes up with this! I don't care if there's information i've have alredy seen, I'LL WATCH IT AGAIN BECAUSE OF BIG-BRO DINO DIEGO! LET'S GOOOO!!!
It's good that King Kong and Frankenstein project was never made because that's what allowed Godzilla to become the star. You could get one or the other.
There are a few mistakes here and there. Maybe LeMay's updated book clarifies that. Also his Writing Japanese Monsters presents a different version of the production of Toho's Frankenstein and Kong movies from the 60s.
1:03:06 I'm surprised you didn't do a Super Mario Bros. joke right there. A King Kong movie made by Mario & Luigi made in the same budget as their plumbing commercial. 🤣
Son of a-
That would've been an epic joke, holy shit. What a missed opportunity smh. I'll never recover from this tragedy XD
I'm currently working on my own King Kong script that while similar to the 1996 King Kong has alot more dinosaurs, wildlife and characters and more focus on the Natives.
I'm working on making it a visual Novel and if it does well I'm gonna try to make it a 2d Animated Film in the style of the Disney Renaissance
If you're interested here's the current wip script
docs.google.com/document/d/1QDLfgVtQdfdvS3cMZX-7b51ucuZ7DLyWMFI_fxTUXPM/edit?usp=drivesdk
Good luck!
I hope it does well.
This sounds really interesting and unique!
And you're doing this on your own?
If so you must be really talented!
Also Will the natives be different from what's shown the films and focus onf their culture and such?
Good luck nonetheless!
Nurgle has blessed me with some sick days, good to see that someone made something worth watching. Good shit lad
Coming back to this video cause it is just, very good. One thing to note about the spider pit sequence is that Morton’s claims about the scene never being shot contradict basically all documentation with have of the scene from around that time, including the films original theater program, which wouldn’t have mentioned it if it hadn’t ever been filmed. Theres also references to it in cinematic publications referring to early test screenings. And should also be noted animation didn’t have individual listings for filming, it was all under “technical filming”. So it being crossed out/not on the shooting script is meaningless. The Classic Horror Film Board has a great discussion thread on it. While it certainly never made its way to any release prints, the scene was absolutely filmed and cut late in production. Morton is a good author, but he conclusions on this matter are based on a very narrow and reductive view on the actual evidence we have at hand.
I never thought a crossover with King Kong and Orca was ever considered! That would've been insane!
never knew that the original King Kong was intended to be a realistic documentary furthermore that the famous ape kidnap scene was based on a real world event which is amazing.
Given the original King Kong Novel from 1932 is in the public domain as it was never Copyrighted by RKO, who knows what other adaptations are being made or planned as we speak.
As long as you follow the original novel and story and avoid any old and modern adaptations, you'll be legally fine. But its best to consult a lawyer or copyright expert on this subject.
One artist I know named Hewy Lewis has his own project based on Kong.
He also has several other projects dedicated to public domain stories and myths.
Only 5 more years and the 95-year copyright of the original movie itself will expire. THEN everyone can go wild with making their own Kong movies (as long as you avoid the trademarked name King Kong).
Kong been known to be public domain since at least the 80s as Universal discovered the novel aspect when RKO tried to sue them for the rights.
But the original film wasn’t so Universal is able to shut down anyone that “adapts the novel” because it’s derivative of the film.
It’s why every project that isn’t universal since then has used the name Kong instead.
Dino Diego is also making kaiju content now. Cool
There may be more of it to appear in the future, who knows? I've always just been fascinated with King Kong, but the history of Kaiju media is pretty cool as a whole
@@DinoDiego16 I actually can't remember if you've covered this before, but the book World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island has so much good stuff to go through
@@Boneworm852I haven't covered it in a video, but I do have the book and I definitely agree. There's definitely a lot of content there to go off of. Might do something with it in the future
Wow this is different, I didn’t expect a Kaiju video lol.
But I loved it.
King Kong is my favorite movie of all time. What an unexpected treat this video is! 🙌🏻
Oh Hell yes! You keep delivering such awesome videos when there's nothing else to watch on the weekends. Plus, John Lemay is a friend of mine and I appreciate you giving him a shout out at the start of this episode!
He made a great book! If you ever get the chance, tell him I enjoyed it a lot and I look forward to getting his updated versions!
@@DinoDiego16 I will as soon as possible and thank you again.
King Kong vs Frankenstein is a pretty awesome and dope idea tbh
A monster made out of animals dead bodies and stitched to form a giant meaty Monster to meet a giant Gorilla and later go on a fight and fall in the ocean from the golden gate bridge
I agree. As weird as it sounds on the surface, I feel like this could've been a really cool movie
Happy (Late) New Year Dino Diego
I was just sitting here wondering why I haven't seen a new video from you. then two scrolls later, bam there you are
It's wild how beloved Godzilla films came at the hands of failed Kong movies and how it seemed like even Toho at one point viewed Kong more of a success than Godzilla
I follow a few channels and they occasionally cover things like unmade movies. Because of the timespan of these unmade movies, it makes them really interesting to learn about. I hope you hit 100K soon and can give yourself another goal to aim for for next year.
An interview with Marcel Delgado (who created and maintained the models used in many of O'Brien's films) I have been studying suggests that the 100 minute version is the complete version of the film.
Very interesting! Where can I find this interview? I'd love to take a look at it
I find that interesting, because we know several scenes were shot and then cut (despite some claims otherwise), so that’s odd
Yes that's true -- the official cut upon its initial release was 100 minutes.
Tarzan versus King Kong sounds like it would’ve been amazing
While this didn't have every undmade King Kong movie, this is so far the most in depth video I've seen on the topic.
The movies in question are Kong Rising and a 2007 adaptation of Kong: King of Skull Island.
Out of all of these, I'm the saddest we never got to see orcas take down the abominable snowman. That sounds awesome and incredibly accurate to real life
You mean to tell me that "big ape vs big lizard" was the original idea since the start?!
Cool. I just noticed a Skullcrawler crawling up the cliff at 20:32. Great video.
Mario and Luigi!? Baby kong!? Oh brother
I prefer when Kong is a giant gorilla-like creature, instead of just a giant gorilla the way Peter Jackson's version portrayed him.
I like how that early script had Kong taking Ann to protect her from a human man (instead of a racist reason), and also breaking free In New York for that again.
Jackson's movie was great
I also prefer Kong's original depiction as an ape-like creature rather than an ordinary gorilla. It follows with what Cooper and O'Brien were after in making Kong more human.
The 1933 film is a sublime classic; no remake will ever surpass it.
Chapter Selection:
0:00 Intro
4:15 *"CREATION"* (1931)
12:18
*"1933's KING KONG Original Story"*
28:06
*"KING KONG Made in Japan"* (1933)
30:06
*"The New Adventures of KING KONG"*
(1933-1934)
31:08 *"THE LOST ISLAND"* (1934)
32:30 *"TARZAN vs KING KONG"*
(1934)
33:53 *"KING KONG Appears in Edo"*
(1938)
35:25
*"Abbott & Costello Meet KING KONG"*
(1940s)
37:27 *"THE 8TH WONDER"* (1952)
38:34
*"KING KONG vs FRANKENSTEIN"*
(1958/1962)
43:35
*"BABOON: A Tale About a Yeti"* (1962)
46:31
*"Continuation:*
*KING KONG vs GODZILLA"*
(1963)
49:22
*"Operation Robinson Crusoe:*
*KING KONG vs EBIRAH"*
(1966)
50:54
*"Hammer Films' KING KONG"*
(1966/1972)
52:08 *"SPACE KONG"* (1969)
54:14 *"ABC's KING KONG"* (1974)
55:37
*"The Legend of KING KONG"*
(1975/1976)
1:01:53
*"Roger Corman's KING KONG"* (1975)
1:02:52
*"BABY KONG"* (1976)
1:04:18
*"1976's KING KONG Original Story"*
1:05:31
*"Possible Sequels for*
*1976's KING KONG"*
1:07:22
*"KING KONG vs GODZILLA Remake"*
(1991)
1:08:44
*"GODZILLA vs MECHANI-KONG"*
(1991)
1:10:11
*"2005's KING KONG Original Story"*
1:18:00 *"SKULL ISLAND"* (2013)
1:19:37
*"KONG: Skull Island Original Story"*
(2016)
1:21:26 Conclusion
40:40 that face. I can relate.
@ 43:27 Is that a stop motion animation effect shot from 'Mighty Joe Young'?
There was also going be a film titled either "Joe Meets Tarzan" or "Tarzan Meets Mighty Joe Young", a sequel to "Mighty Joe Young" (1949) that was never made.
They should definitely make all these movies happen
Loved the video, YT needs more King King history videos! I've heard before that 20 minutes of Creation had been filmed before cancelation but I was always under the impression that only 4 minutes was made. Which I'm sure would've been inserted into the final product but it was meant to be a test for O'Brien to match the stop-motion animation with live-action.
That's what some accounts say at least. 20 minutes total, more specifically of test footage iirc, with only 4 minutes that have survived (along with alleged clips that have appeared in other RKO works, though its not confirmed from my understanding). Definitely would've been cool to see Creation become a reality though. Thank you for the kind words!
Would love too see an updated version of the Gargantuas, legendary films should interdouce them into the Monsterverse. Maybe as a subspecies of King Kong s bloodline
Hah, that spider pit scene and two legged lizards are very interesting ideas, were they directly the inpiration for PJ King Kong's unerving bug pit scene and King Kong Skull Island's Skullcrawlers?
I'm glad that some of the creatures originally cut from Skull Island have made it into the Monsterverse canon.
This has become one of my favorite videos on this channel….kinda want to see a Godzilla version now!
1.2m from rko? Is that adjusted? Or actually a number from that period, because that's ALOT of money back then if so
Wow, I M shocked the original story of the 2005 King Kong movie was going to be made and released in 1996, but Roland Emmerichs Godzilla and the Mighty Joe Young remake caused the Kong 96 remake to be postponed. I did not want to believe it at first that there was going to be a '96 Kong remake but was changed for the reason.
Well, this is a surprising turn of events with YT's algorithm. I'm glad I got to this video since it was such an enjoyable view and then went to a couple of other videos and I find your narration and style of videos entertaining. I find the thought of Kong's proposed projects to be a topic I never gave much attention as much as Godzilla's and I did knew of some that had a connection to it but still, it was fascinating to know of the giant Kong.
Props for the video. Consider me subbed and following your content from now on.
Another cancelled King Kong movie was "Baby Kong" by legendary Italian director Mario Bava. It was not filmed presumably for the simultaneous release of De Laurentiis' 1977 movie
The most dangerous game and Kong were shot at the same time, on the same sets (one during the day and one at night) with most the same actors
Man, concept arts for 1933 King Kong was... something - especially around begging of (infamous) Hays' Codex.
From 1:19:36 - it was good thing that original opening for Kong: Skull Island was dropped. I can only imagine flame war between fans of '05 King Kong and new one.
Incredible work! Where did you find the full creation test footage? I’ve been looking for it for a decade
I came across a video on TH-cam that contained Creation's test footage along with Ray Harryhausen's commentary, likely from some special features material. Here's the link to the video:
th-cam.com/video/3IMR9i_0Om4/w-d-xo.htmlsi=-5-wD8h-4LzrCKX1
I really wish someone could try to make the King Kong vs Frankenstein film idea. The premise sounds so good.
Although it's not really the same; I'm pretty sure there are a few short movies here on youtube using the concept.
22:39 that would've been a great transition shot between Kong's attack on the train and the scene where they suggest shooting him off the empire state building
43:38 baboon: A tail about something that’s not a baboon
Thank you Mr. Diego for this video.
Hey Diego, have you seen Toei’s infamous Kenya Boy animated movie? It’s got dinosaurs chasing the hero and his allies!
Some ask why a giant gorilla named king kong got so popular? In the early 1900s the Gorilla had only just been recognized by the scientific community as an actual living creature, the fact that these giant apes existed took the world by storm as it was previously comparable to bigfoot.
There's also the "ape element" making it more relatable to us vs giant squids or dinosaurs.
I tip my hat to you for the research that went into this video. I’ve been a fan of Kong my entire life but I hadn’t ever heard of even half of those failed attempts until now. I agree that some of them could have been good movies, and I’ve always been especially fascinated by the story of the Creation film.
I remember first finding out about about the 90s Peter Jackson remake and being extremely disappointed because I would have much rather had this version of the film. I still like the 2005 film, but the 90s version seemed way more interesting.
Mario Bava’s partner was named Lugi? Life is weird
I mean they are common italian names but...yeah it's weird.
Dino Diego Every Godzilla movie that was never made next??
An interesting note about the King Kong vs Godzilla remake and Godzilla vs Mechani Kong films: the idea of making Godzilla’s opponent a cyborg and bringing back a popular enemy of the big G was incorporated into that years Godzilla vs King Ghidorah. Also Mechani-Kong was Koichi Kawakita’s favorite monster (special effects director of the Heisei era Godzilla films and funnily enough got his start at Toho with the original King Kong vs Godzilla) and the unused Mechan-Kong design was repurposed for the monster Bulgaria in the tokusatsu series the Justifiers and Super Fleet Sazer X the Movie, which Kawakita did the special effects on.
Also fun fact: Mechani-Kong was the inspiration for Mechagodzilla as a character, and both Mechas interestingly enough fought Godzilla in Kodansha’s Godzilla King of the Monsters manga
Peter Jackson's King Kong is and always will be the definitive Kong
I won't lie. As much as I can recognize the historical significance of the original, 2005's King Kong will always be my favorite Kong movie
@@DinoDiego16 It's a personal favorite of mine, too (😊). And I like how in the newer Kong films of the _Monsterverse,_ the character's been allowed to stay _rooted_ traditionally, but also change.
The original KONG is the definitive version -- it's the first and only one that encompasses Merian C. Cooper's vision as he intended it to be.😊
I actually have Creation (1931) on a King Kong (1933) special edition DVD
What Would Even Happen If Kong Fought Gwangi?
Will you cover the Dino Crisis series at some point in the future?
Maybe one day! Not anytime soon though
When Skull Island was announced there was slo a rumored about Tom Hiddleston character going to Skull Island in search of his brother, who went there looking for something called the 'titaan serum'
Considering as of 2024 Edgar Rice's Tarzan Lord of the Jungle is within the public domain Tarzan can crossover with King Kong.
Super informative video!
King Kong : War of the Continents
Regarding the scenes not being filmed. The historian is right, if you look at the filming schedule, which is a table of contents for the work for each scene, if the missing scenes aren’t on the call sheets or schedule then they definitely never happened.
I'm inclined to believe that considering that seems to more solidly prove that the scene didn't get made than whatever evidence we've heard of the scene actually being made. But at the end of the day, I'm keeping an open mind to any possibility because you just never know
Great History of King Kong Movies
I would love to see the unmade King Kong movie that Deep Rising was a prequal to.
Other ones I would like to see made, Abbott and Costello meet King Kong The iligiitimate Son of King Kong, daughter of King Kong, Space Kong, Bionic Kong in Moscow, and King Kong Vs Orca
Just for fun, what's your favorite version of King Kong. Personally, although I know I'm going to get flamed for this, I think the Monsterverse version is the best one.
I personally love the 2005 film. I'd say that's my favorite one, but Monsterverse's Kong is also very badass
@@DinoDiego16 Yeah, 2005's my second favorite.
Willis O'Brien was the sigma of stop-motion in the 20th century.
Why do you keep showing Ray Harryhausen holding a Joe Young model when you say "O'brien"?
Cuz mistakes were made XD
@@DinoDiego16 Can happen...thanks.
… you know technically we did get King Kong Vs Frankenstein with War of the Gargantuans
That's more like "Kong-like Frankenstein vs Kong-like Frankenstein"
so good
I think you missed one: *Kong rising.*
It was apparently supposed to be directed by Stephen Sommers and it would have been a sequel to his other monster movie, Deep rising, which ends with the characters stranded on Skull Island.
Are we just gonna ignore the fact that he put an Orca in the thumbnail?
Because a couple of these films involve Orcas. And one of the planned films flat out would have had Kong fighting the Orca from the 1977 film of the same name.
The thumbnail gives strong "Day 33: They still haven't realized I'm an orca" vibes. 🤣
An underrated film deep rising from 1998 was supposed to be a prequel to the potential kong movie at the time.
Why RKO gotta be constantly doing everything they can to stop great sounding movies from happening?
The fact Jim Danforth refused Delaurentiis’ carte blanque offer for some creature in Paramount’s movie, is something hard forgive imo. We could have had a bit more thrill and fun.
The spider pit scene was Ermac before Ermac
What did i miss, what’s all that stop motion clips that looks like it’s very much the lost spider pit scene. And they shoulda left it in, yeah it’s break from the actual story but it’s creepy AF and worked well in 2005s version even though it’s a bit changed up with killer leeches.
King Kong 1996 would’ve been the best Kong film ever.
The finished Peter Jackson film is heavy-handed enough as it is.
Earlier today I actually thought to make a fanfic of King Kong Vs Frankenstein
Hey Diego!
Obviously I'm a big, big fan of King Kong, hence why I'm here 🤣But I just wanted to say, as big a fan as I am, I'd somehow never even heard of the original 1933 movie novelization. I found out it was reprinted by The Modern Library (an imprint of Random House that usually focuses on more traditionally "classic" reprints like Jules Verne and Nathaniel Hawthorne), and that was incredibly shocking. Then you mentioned it was in the public domain, and it all made sense. 😛Regardless, because of this video, I've now bought a copy of that edition, and that's why I love watching your stuff. You get me to spend money on amazing things I've never heard of before. 😉
Thank you for making this video! But I have to say, what is a king to a God?
A better question is who rules better, a King or a God? In this case, I think it's the king😎
I'd like to see the Yeti movie made.
there a gyro/burger joint in Omaha Nebraska called King Kong
Universal tried to sue them for using the name, but failed since they never properly copy writed it - in 2000 the owner got the right to use King Kong as a food mascot
he then later sued Burger King for trying to promote the new King Kong movie since he owns the fast food rights!
Universal loves to try and sue everyone claiming to own King Kong and yet every time they try they lose
I'm not surprised. Universal was the same way towards museums that used "Jurassic" in their exhibit name back in 1993 when Jurassic Park was released
No fucking way. ABBOTT and COSTELLO were going to have a crossover with King Kong?!?!?!? HOW HAVE I NEVER HEARD OF THIS UNTIL TODAY?!?!?!?! I LOVE Abbott and Costello films!!!! That crossover would have been absolutely hilarious to watch!