King Kong: According to Variety, Adrien Brody is in negotiations with Universal Pictures to join the cast of Peter Jackson's King Kong.

Universal has offered Brody the role of Jack Driscoll, a former World War I fighter pilot who is the love interest for archaeologist Ann Darrow, to be played by Naomi Watts.

On Monday, Universal announced that Jack Black will play showman Carl Denham who brings the giant gorilla to New York City from Skull Island.

Filling the Driscoll role is the last major casting to be done on "Kong." In the 1933 original, Driscoll spends much of the film trying to rescue Ann Darrow from Kong after the ape takes a liking to the beauty.

Brody, who won an Academy Award for his perf in The Pianist, just wrapped on supernatural thriller The Jacket for Mandalay Pictures and Warner Independent.

He will next appear in M. Night Shamalayan's The Village, which Disney is skedded to release on July 30th.

"Kong," which Universal plans to unspool on Dec. 14th, 2005, is set to go into production this summer in Jackson's native New Zealand.