The ape-movie crossover that you never knew you needed is on the way. Boom! Studios is going to be unleashing a brand new, six-issue comic book miniseries that will bring together the King Kong and Planet of the Apes franchises in a crossover that is appropriately titled Kong on the Planet of the Apes. The series is set to release its first issue this November.
Kong on the Planet of the Apes is written by Ryan Ferrier with art by Carlos Magno. Empire recently debuted some details on the series, which will take place in the continuity of the original 1968 Planet of the Apes movie, as opposed to the more recent reboot of the franchise. Empire spoke with Ferrier about the series, who explained what we can expect in terms of story. Here's what he had to say about it.
"The short of it is that Skull Island still exists in the future, and shortly after the events of the first Apes film, a Kong body is discovered in the Forbidden Zone. From there, Dr. Zaius leads an expedition to the island to uncover the truth about the giant ape. What I'm most excited about is exploring the different goals, for better or worse, of our classic Apes characters (Dr. Zaius, Cornelius, Zira, and Ursus), and how those goals complement or conflict with their beliefs, both with their faith and science. There are a lot of meaningful themes at play, with very different characters, which is the best kind of challenge to have when making a comic with such celebrated properties."
Even though it may seem a bit peculiar on the surface, there is no reason that Skull Island couldn't exist in the continuity of the Planet of the Apes movies. So this crossover actually makes a bit of sense, as far as sci-fi comic books are concerned. Boom! Studios has also handled comic book adaptations of both properties for some time, with the publisher recently wrapping up a 12-issue Kong of Skull Island series. They have also had other Planet of the Apes crossovers, such as ones with Star Trek, Green Lantern and Tarzan in the past. Ryan Ferrier also talked a little bit about what makes this crossover worthwhile for him on a personal level.
"There's such a deep mythology to both properties, especially if you take into account all of the amazing Kong and Apes comics that have come out in recent years. With this series, we've found a really coherent, meaningful way of having these two worlds and their legacies fold into each other. The implications of the Ape civilization discovering the Kong world are huge, and that's certainly on the forefront of the series."
As far as timing goes, Boom! Studios couldn't be more spot on. Kong: Skull Island crushed it at the box office this year, which helped bring the legendary ape back into the public consciousness. Plus, War for the Planet of the Apes just wrapped up an epic trilogy arc for the rebooted Planet of the Apes series, so both franchise are very current. In addition to the story information, Empire also revealed the first cover for Kong on the Planet of the Apes, which was done by Mike Huddleston. Be on the lookout for the series this November and be sure to check out the first cover for yourself below.
