In three short days, the King of Skull Island will be awoken as Warner Brothers, Legendary and Universal debut the first trailer for Kong: Skull Island at San Diego Comic-Con this week! As we lead up to the event, Warner Bros. have shared yet another animated teaser image and updated their social media channels for the film. After seeing this new image I can't help but see a blatant reference to 2014's Godzilla marketing and I can't help but wonder if it was done on purpose to signal what kind of marketing approach we can expect for Skull Island.
Before we get started, here is the new image:
As you can see, now there is a soldier holding a green flare while standing on top of a massive Ape skull. Now, compare that to one of the many posters released for Godzilla back in 2014:
If we zoom in on the Godzilla poster and focus on the trooper who is also holding a flare, we can see a definite similarity.
Now, the point I'm trying to make is not that both images have a soldier holding a flare - but that this could mean the marketing and general poster design for Kong: Skull Island could follow Godzilla's template very closely. Skull Island is, after all, a semi-prequel to the next Godzilla film and precursor to Godzilla vs. Kong in 2020. It's more than likely Warner Bros., Legendary and Universal will base each film's marketing and design the same way. What this would suggest is that we won't actually get a full glimpse of the new Kong until right before the film comes out. This also suggests they won't shy away from teasing Kong's look piece by piece with a plethora of theatrical posters, viral images and videos. This could also suggest Kong's aesthetic could change from now (at SDCC) and when the film releases, as was the case with Godzilla.
It's a subtle detail I noticed and I'm sure I'm not the only one making this connection. It is by no means groundbreaking, but something interesting to consider for those of us who plan on following this film's development extensively. If I am right, we can expect a short, yet awe-inspiring teaser at Comic-Con, followed by a few teaser posters and a viral website within a few months. From there, a series of cryptic promotions, followed by a publicly released teaser and then further down the road a series of lengthier trailers, all maintaining a certain level of mystery and suspense.
As someone who is very eager to see what becomes of Kong: Skull Island, the likelihood of an engaging marketing campaign like that of Godzilla's is extremely exciting.
As the footage debuts at Comic-Con this week, be sure to check back on Scified for a detailed account of everything shown!
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