Kong is literally a king in early concept art

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

KONG: SKULL ISLAND brought the giant ape swinging back into theaters in a big way this weekend, chest-pounding his way to number one with a $61 million dollar debut. Fans are digging the fun, vibrant adventure flick and you wouldn’t deserve a poke in the eye by saying Kong is officially a king again. Amy king deserves a good throne, and these early concept images show that big beast almost had a literal one to rest his hairy bum on.

Done by artist Eddie Del Rio (vis io9), these concept illustrations show plenty of scenes that eventually came to fruition. However, the most notable of the bunch show Kong sitting on a literal throne in some sort of cave, being praised by the inhabitants of the island. This was potentially an early idea what was obviously scraped, but it’s nonetheless a pretty imagination-provoking image. Though you can’t see it clearly, they are offering him large mounds of bread, turnips, livestock, gold, frankincense and mer. Okay, none of that is true, but still, they are worshipping him for all the good he does keeping evil creatures at bay, and Kong seems perfectly stoic as a benevolent ruler.

Check them out below!

All I can think about is how radically the dynamic of the movie would have changed if Kong was worshipped as a real king. It could've completely change how he was perceived, personifying him in a way no one has ever seen. It would’ve been a bold move, but probably too bold conceptually for the movie KONG eventually became.  Still, it’s the kind of image someone would put on a rap album.

KONG: SKULL ISLAND is in theaters now with Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, John C. Reilly, Samuel L. Jackson and John Goodman