It’s nothing new for a younger ape to start beating his chest in a “King Kong” film. After Little Kong in 1933’s “Son of Kong” and Baby Kong in 1986’s “King Kong Lives,” Suko would be the third young ape to get involved in a Kong-related kerfuffle. The difference is that the previous two were, in fact, the sons of Kong, whereas current evidence suggests that Suko is not.
Even so, that doesn’t mean he won’t have a big part to play in the great ape’s mission, especially given that Suko’s name, when written phonetically in Japanese, roughly translates to “essential child.” This could also explain why, according to THR, an early possible title for the film was “Son of Kong,” which appears to cement Suko’s importance in the film.
Introducing new blood to the mix could be the way director Adam Wingard shows how time has transformed these titular heroes, for better or worse, and what the future of the Monsterverse looks like. Speaking to Total Film about the young ape, the filmmaker said, “I didn’t want it to just be random; it’s part of the story. And similarly with Kong, I wanted to give him some sort of new look as well. We grew his beard out, and gave him a little bit more gray hair and stuff.”
We’ll see if the new and old generations pack a punch when “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” hits theaters on April 12, 2024.
