King Kong of Skull Island universe to expand in books from World Builder Publishing

For twenty years, Joe DeVito and his company DeVito ArtWorks have been working with the Merian C. Cooper Estate to create books based on Cooper’s 1933 film King Kong. In 2005, DeVito and Brad Strickland wrote Merian C. Cooper’s King Kong, a rewrite of the 1932 novelization of King Kong, with DeVito providing illustrations. That has been followed by Kong: King of Skull Island, which was a sequel and prequel to King Kong that was written by Brad Strickland and John Michlig, with illustrations by DeVito; the crossovers Doc Savage: Skull Island and King Kong vs. Tarzan, which were written by Will Murray and illustrated by DeVito; and King Kong of Skull Island, an illustrated novel by DeVito that dug into the origins of Kong’s species and the native Tagatu civilization. WikiZilla informs us that the King Kong of Skull Island universe also includes video games and comic books (Kong: King of Skull Island from Markosia, Kong of Skull Island from BOOM! Studios, Kong: Gods of Skull Island from BOOM! Studios, Kong on the Planet of the Apes from BOOM! Studios, Kong of Skull Island 2018 Special from BOOM! Studios, and Kong: The Great War from Dynamite Entertainment). Now, Deadline reports that DeVito Artworks and the Merian C. Cooper Estate have secured a deal with the newly launched World Builder Publishing, a new division of Dannie Festa’s management and franchise building company World Builder Entertainment, to continue expanding the King Kong of Skull Island universe with more books that are now in development.

DeVito provided the following statement: “We’re thrilled to have World Builder Publishing as our publishing partner. Their expertise in franchise-building and storytelling makes them the perfect home for Kong’s next chapter. Extending World Builder’s reach into the often frustrating and slow-moving world of traditional publishing brings a welcome alternative to the industry.“

World Builder Publishing intends to offer authors a fast track to market, while exploring film and television adaptation potential. Dannie Festa and her colleague Nick Terry are said to be prioritizing “bold, original voices across all genres.” Festa had this to say: “This is about more than just publishing books. We’ve always been focused on nurturing intellectual properties that can thrive across multiple platforms and we’re passionate about collaborating with creators who have big ideas and want to see those ideas reach their full potential. Integrating publishing into our offerings enables us to create opportunities for our clients across various creative disciplines by bridging the gap between publishing and entertainment.“

World Builder Entertainment is also teaming up with DeVito, the Cooper Estate, and Atomic Monster to develop a Disney+ series based on the King Kong of Skull Island franchise. That project was first announced a few years ago. The King Kong of Skull Island endeavors are entirely separate from the MonsterVerse projects made by Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros.

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