Skull Island (location)

The Skull Island temple

**Skull Island** is a fictional location from the 1933 film, *King Kong*. It is setting for the *Skull Island* section of *Islands of Adventure*, predominately based on its appearance in the 2005 remake of King Kong directed by Peter Jackson.

## Description

Skull Island is a jungle island located in the Indian Ocean, near Sumatra.

### Features

* **Village**:
	+ **Temple**:

### Wildlife

#### Fauna

* **Arachno-Claw**:
* **Carnictis**:
* **Decarnocimex**:
* **Deplector**:
* **Megaprimatus Kong**:
* **Terapusmordax**:
* **Vastatosaurus rex**:

## History

### Background

#### Origins

Skull Island is an isolated island in the Indian Ocean, which has a population descended from late-surviving prehistoric animals such as non-avian dinosaurs. It has been theorized by palaeontologist Dr. Marian Krillman, that Skull Island broke loose from the super-continent Gondwana mainland. It is believed that an advanced civilization lived on the island thousands of years before the 20th century, and that they built the walls and temples of the island. Over time, seismic activity caused the island became smaller and smaller.

In 1830, a ship wrecked on the island's east-coast. Over the years, many tried to reach Skull Island only to vanish without a trace. The island's vary existence wasn't fully believed and was considered to be sailor's superstition.

The island also had a population of giant gorillas known as, "Megaprimatus Kong", though seemingly only one known as, "Kong" was alive by the 1930s and worshiped as a god by the local human tribe who offered it human sacrifices.

#### Reign of Kong

The first outsiders to end up on Skull Island were the *Eighth Wonder Expedition Company* who had arrived by 1931. The company had some civility with the native tribe (even employing a local named Kalana), and made their base from a temple which the tribe used to worship King Kong. Various discoveries of the island were broadcast by the National Broadcasting Company's radio.

In 1931, various Eighth Wonder jeeps transporting guest explorers were attacked by the island fauna. The attackers were warded off by King Kong, who the jeeps then had a close encounter with before driving off. Will Denham planned to tell his uncle, filmmaker Carl Denham, about the adventures on the island as well as King Kong.

In the May of 1932, Skull Island was mapped, possibly by the company.

#### King Kong

In 1933, Carl Denham lead his own expedition to Skull Island with a film-crew. When encountering the local tribe, they attacked and sacrificed actress Ann Darrow to King Kong. However, Kong befriended Ann and protected her from the local wildlife. Eventually, Kong was subdued by Denham, but Ann was not happy with the other survivors' treatment of Kong. He was then shipped back to New York, for Carl to make money on him as the Eighth Wonder of the World, and a prop for a Broadway play based on the encounter. Carl was affiliated with the *Museum of Antiquities* who put artifacts from Skull Island on display in their lower-levels.

The restraints were not strong enough to contain the ape, and King Kong escaped, hoping to reunite with Ann once more. But with attackers from all over, Kong was forced to climb up the Empire State Building, while still holding Ann. Several planes began to attack, and they eventually succeeded in killing Kong, who fell to his death. When asked about the event during its aftermath, Carl remarked that the airplanes were not the cause of his death, and that "it was Beauty killed the Beast".

#### Disappearance

A movie was created, based on the legend of King Kong. In the 1940s, it was reported that the island was destroyed and disappeared off the face of the earth.

At an unknown point in time, over fifteen ships in one month went missing from the waters of Sumatra, presumably due to Skull Island. This was covered in a newspaper article by Steven Black.

#### Rediscovery

On the February seventh through ninth around 2016, satellite cameras noticed clouds in the Indian Ocean which lead to the rediscovery of Skull Island by the TV show, "Myth Explorer" and adventurer Erin Ryder. Erin travelled to the island with her camera-man, Mike.

## Appearances

### Holiday Tribute Store

The 2023 Tribute Store mentioned Skull Island as a location which *Studio Shipping and Post* delivers to.

### Sahara Traders

There is a map of Skull Island framed on the wall. Brochures and posters identify the Museum of Antiquities as having exhibits of artifacts from Skull Island, one of which had its space reduced to make way for the Egyptian artifacts exhibit. There are also references to King Kong.

## Trivia

* One of the skeleton statues in the queue resembles a mummy from *Revenge of the Mummy*.
* In Myth Explorer, a chalk-board nicknames Skull Island, "**The Bermuda Triangle of the Indian Ocean**", referencing the urban myth that the Bermuda Triangle of the North Atlantic Ocean is a mysterious location with regular disappearances.
* Skull Island's vicinity to Sumatra is an allusion to the Peter Jackson movie *Braindead* (1992), which was paid-tribute in his King Kong remake where the crate containing a Sumatran Rat-monkey was visible on the boat heading for Skull Island.
* The reports of Skull Island being destroyed and sinking references the plot of *Son of Kong* (1933), in-which the island is hit by a massive earthquake causing it to sink into the sea.

## References

1. ↑ Radio queue
2. ↑ Map date in Myth Explorer
3. ↑ Myth Explorer
4. ↑ Newspaper article in Myth Explorer
5. ↑ https://wdwnt.com/2022/07/sahara-traders-gets-a-new-look-with-tons-of-amazing-details-and-easter-eggs-ahead-of-revenge-of-the-mummy-reopening-at-universal-studios-florida/
6. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oopl9CUh-5I&t=6s