Claim: Kong: Skull Island stars Samuel L. Jackson.

Kong : Skull Island is a 2017 American action-adventure monster film directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts and written by Dan Gilroy , Max Borenstein and Derek Connolly , from a story by John Gatins . The film is a reboot of the King Kong franchise and serves as the second film in Legendary 's MonsterVerse . It stars an ensemble cast consisting of Tom Hiddleston , Samuel L. Jackson , John Goodman , Brie Larson , Jing Tian , Toby Kebbell , John Ortiz , Corey Hawkins , Jason Mitchell , Shea Whigham , Thomas Mann , Terry Notary and John C. Reilly . The film follows a team of scientists and Vietnam War soldiers who travel to an uncharted island in the Pacific and encounter terrifying creatures and the mighty Kong .   Principal photography took place from October 2015 to March 2016 in Hawaii and various locations around Vietnam . Kong : Skull Island premiered on February 28 , 2017 , in London and was released in the United States on March 10 , 2017 , in 2D , 3D , IMAX 3D and in Dolby Cinemas . The film was a critical and commercial success , grossing $ 565 million worldwide against its $ 185 million budget and making it the fifth highest-grossing film of 2017 .