Kong's Had A Major Transformation Since Skull Island

Ever since the Godzilla vs. Kong trailer broke the internet in late January 2021, fans of giant monsters have been clamoring to see the two legendary creatures duke it out in the big-budget feature from Warner Bros. Pictures — especially as reports from a set visit indicate that the movie might have some surprises in store. It looks like they don't have to wait too long, either, since the creature feature is set to arrive in theaters and on HBO Max on March 26.

As awesome as this match-up is, it does posit a certain, physics-related problem. King Kong is undeniably mighty, but the giant ape is rather famously of a size that enables him to merely climb skyscrapers, while his opponent Godzilla is large enough to tear through entire cities with relative ease. That size and stature difference wouldn't make for a fair fight, would it?

Fortunately for the mammalian monster and his fans, Kong won't have to spend Godzilla vs. Kong running away from a borderline invincible atomic monster several times his size. As it turns out, Kong's had a pretty massive transformation since we last saw him in Kong: Skull Island. 

There have been plenty of King Kong movies of varying quality, but they've all portrayed the giant ape as considerably smaller than Godzilla. Even the original 1962 version of King Kong vs. Godzilla, which portrays Kong as roughly the same size as his opponent, makes it clear that Godzilla is the taller and heftier of the two. 

Because the Kong we see in Godzilla vs. Kong is the same one from 2017's Kong: Skull Island, it's easy to assume that the size thing would come in play. However, as producer Alex Garcia told ComicBook.com, the showdown between the two titans takes place decades after Skull Island, and Kong has gone through a pretty huge growth spurt in the interim. 

"Kong is bigger in this film. There's a line in Skull Island that he's still growing, so he's an adolescent in that film," Garcia revealed. "Where we begin 40-something years later, he is significantly larger, but he's still the [same] Kong, you know? He has a few tricks up his sleeve, just by virtue of being around in a modern world and things that he can use — and use tactically — that Godzilla can't." 

However, as the trailer makes clear, Godzilla is still the larger monster of the two — and also has its signature atomic breath at its disposal. As such, Garcia teased that the ape definitely "has the odds stacked against him" in Godzilla vs. Kong. Only time will tell which creature will emerge victorious when Godzilla and Kong go head-to-head starting on March 26.