SKULL ISLAND: A NATURAL HISTORY (read the description) 

Between this and the MonsterVerse Skull Island, I prefer the latter. Whereas Classic Skull Island (as I'd like to call it) is more of a natural preserve for prehistoric wildlife, the MV Skull Island is something more straight out of mythology (not to mention it's shaped like an actual skull), a land where gods and demons rule supreme in their domains. Or as Bill Randa (John Goodman) put it: a land where God did not finish creation. A place where myth and science meet. Not to mention the MV Skull Island's wildlife aggressively took evolution down a completely new level that defies all evolution, one where there is gigantism beyond any megafauna previously identified and one where flora and fauna have become one and the same, perfectly blending in to their surroundings and making them 10x dangerous and unpredictable, even Charles Darwin would be left speechless. Those creatures do not fit in any kind of natural classification, far different from any previous incarnation of the island. That gives the incarnation of the island a much more unique identity apart from its previous predecessors. *_UPDATE:_* • To everyone who thinks this is real: don't what school you illiterate morons went to but apparently you didn't learn to read, otherwise you'd've read my description where I point out this is an *_OBVIOUS MOCKUMENTARY INTENDED TO PROMOTE THE MOVIE AND NOTHING ELSE!!!_* This is made for _E N T E R T A I N M E N T purposes,_ if you can't learn to read a description or separate fiction from reality, then maybe you should go back to school and _GET SMARTER!_

I love it when fictional world's have their own lore.

It’s because of Peter Jackson’s rugged, vast and terrifying depiction of Skull Island and its prehistoric inhabitants is why I wish he would lend himself to direct a remake of The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle, with the 1925 silent film as partial inspiration.

Of all the incarnations of Skull Island, this is my favorite

Peter Jackson is so fucking dedicated to the lore of his movies

Imagine if there was somehow dinosaurs like this still alive somewhere that would be so dope

I love the 2005 skull island so much, it has this mysterious and horrifying yet beautiful atmosphere, the creatures are all very realistic, and the history of the island is extremely interesting

I like this pseudo-documentary. It really shows how much Peter Jackson and company thought out the history, flora, fauna, etc of Skull Island. It makes it feel more real, or at least believable.

This was by far the absolute best King Kong film of all time. Beats every single one, including the original.

World building at it's finest! Love it!

love how much lore was put into this movie. I have the book that most of the artwork in the video had. I highly recommend that people check it out.

The original skull island 1933 - Classic, terrifying, primordial ecosystem mixed with old aged, prehistoric creatures based on the artwork of Charles R. Knight and simply out of the horrors of the human imagination of the time (spider pit creatures). 1962/63 Skull/Farou Islands - The first Skull to take place in the Pacific and more of an example of a "unmemorable generic interpretation of Skull Island. (Because the focus was more Kong fighting Godzilla). - Mondo islands is just another example of the Farou skull island, but it did have a dinosaur on it. 1976 Skull Island - A natural looking, mysterious island but not much of a prehistoric relic, however abit more "real life realism" to it. (As most of the budget for the movie went into Kong's suit and mechanics.) 2005 Skull Island - Creepy, vicious, predator conflict-dominated, lush, geologically wrecked and mysterious ecosystem with creatures of accurate biological functions/features. 2017 Skull Island - Possibly a place of origin for all giant monsters/titans or an example of a world dominated by giant creatures with a feral-native fauna ecological conflict (Kong and Skull Crawlers).

Holy shit, i came looking for a bit of lore on Peter Jackson's skull island and i found gold, it was very well thought out, it shows how much care they put into it and the movie and i absolutely love it, it has a special place in my heart

Gotta hand it to them, they made it look like Skull island could exist.

Best goddamn king king movie ever. I love the monsterverse Kong but what Peter Jackson did with Kong can not be topped even by the original. This documentary they made and the book really create a world and ecosystem none other King Kong movies has ever really tried to do. There is so much love and research that went into the movie. The movie’s backgrounds and creatures commit to world building. 2005 King Kong is legendary imo. I’m so pissed I can’t get the book because they are extremely expensive online.

A fictional documentary to help market the film, not that hard to comprehend.

This first Kong film to honor the lush prehistoric jungle Willis O'Brien and Mario Larinaga created back in 1933. The original Skull Island remains the best jungle humanity has ever seen in a movie!

This skull island will always be peak.

Skull Island is easily one of my favorite places in all of fiction. Just an island full of giant monsters and such a rich history. What's not to love?

They REALLY did their homework on this. You almost end up thinking this was real! 🙂

There’s a ride at Universal’s Islands of Adventure called “Skull Island: Reign of Kong” The rides storyline is both a prequel and sequel of Peter Jackson’s movie. The prequel took place in 1931 two years before Carl Denham went to the island with Ann Darrow, then years later in 2016 another expedition came to the island and found out that the island didn’t sink and found remains of the previous expedition from 1931.

"Incredible, absolutely incredible" - Carl Denim, King Kong the official game of the movie

To all the people asking 'is this real'? It literally says fictional documentary in the description.

Peter Jackson: "Lord of the Cinematic World-Builders"

I'm so gullible. I watched all of the bonus features from the DVD, and when I saw this, I genuinely believed it and was so excited about it. Finding out that it was fake just really hurt my feelings lol. I'm too old to fall for this.

The original 1933 film is a groundbreaking classic influencing countless other films and filmmakers, however Peter Jackson's 2005 King Kong is the definitive Kong movie, the 1933 period, the detail and depth put into Skull Island, the humanization of Kong himself, the perfectly casted actors... the 3 + hour runtime doesn't bother me one bit!

The production crew came up with a very clever history for skull island.

I like this. I also Iove it how they put soundtracks of the movie in this mockumentary.

I actually have a passing theory, that within the universe Skull Island didn't actually sink. Might sound odd, but I have a few reasons why. First, is the convenience of it sinking. This rendition of Skull Island is not volcanic, implying it would have less of a physical presence within a fault line or a less likely chance of tectonic activity directly on or around the island. Not to mention, how it could have and did survive for millions of years, and yet only a decade after its discovery it completely vanished? Not to mention, it's unlikely an earthquake would make the entirety of an island disappear. Break, some parts might sink, but not an entire land mass. Next, my main point: The governments of the world would want it to be obscured, for several reasons as well. As it is a treasure trove of ancient knowledge, they would want it to be preserved; as the war raged on, and travel became both faster and more readily available to people worldwide, the governments who were interested would have no control over who went to the island to potentially damage its people or wildlife. The other reason would be the danger the island itself presents; these creatures are all hyper-evolved killing machines, capable of surviving extreme conditions as well as in a small population over millions of years. If enough made it back to the mainland, they could potentially spread without control. Imagine if a few of those raptors came back to South America, and a few years later an entire population arose? The ultimate method of keeping the people out and the creatures within: A cover-up. As Kong already came to America and showed the world he, and the island, existed, there could be no cover up. But if the people could be convinced the island *did* exist, but doesn't *anymore*, then there would be no reason for anybody to attempt to find it or visit it, preserving and containing the island's contents. Also, a cover-up may be the reason why the museum refused to show the "remains" of Kong. Not that he's alive, per se, but that he's not being "preserved" in the sense of anything less than study, and to cover up as much as possible. Just a personal theory of mine, and I suspect it could be either way.

2005 Skull Island is way better and more dangerous than 2017 Skull Island

If anyone enjoyed this documentary and want more, I highly recommend you buy the book that came with the movie “Skull Island: A Natural History Guide”. Most of the concept art in this video was taken from the book. The book includes the 100’s of other animals on the island that were not featured in the movie with concept art for all. It’s a really great book!

Fun fact: the “explorers” featured at 1:10 are all the people that went into the creation of the movie. WETA folks, writers, producers, even Peter Jackson himself which you can see him stand as the third guy to the furtherest right.

imagine if this was a full hour long

There are 2 things about this that amaze me: 1) Some people are discussing it like it's real. I'm really hoping there is some subtle sarcasm there. 2) Some people are getting bent out of shape saying it's "fake," "bullshit," and wasted their time. You don't say! Did you not read the title?! Have you never heard of King Kong? Peter Jackson? Movies? Promotional material? 🤦

Ordinary people on Skull Island: I'm outta here!!!! InGen Scientists on Skull Island: Make sure you capture every last one of them or You're all fired!!

We need a prequel film about Skull Island and its inhabitants and/or a sequel about the subsequent expeditions before the island's demise

5:52 That statement gives me the chills

The speculative evolution aspect of the ecosystem of Skull Island remains the best part of the 2005 project.

Australia: we have the most dangerous wildlife on the planet, nothing can top us. Skull Island: why that's so cute, allow us to introduce ourselves. Australia: why do I hear Boss Music???

What a lovely place to go vacationing

The amount of detail put into this is amazing...

Somewhere under the ocean mr.hays'es skeleton and Carl denoms crew lay under the waves...vanishing from history.......

SKull Island feels like a testament to all the sci fi dinosaur films of the 20th century even thought it started it

Love how the 2005 movie has the island sinking as a reference to Son of Kong

So astonished at all the people that can't read a video title.

so much creative effort

the reality of this documentary was really to explain the artistic choices made for the dinosaurs and skull island in general something that is pretty much necessary for making VFX

Honestly. In my head canon. King Kong 2005 takes place in the same universe as Jurassic Park. I like to imagine Hammond's father was one of those expedition survivors who recounted the events of the island and this inspired him to genetically create his version of dinosaurs.

My Dad is convinced that this is a real documentary and he got really angry with me when i told him that it isn't.

I wish more movie-makers now a days would put this much effort into world-building... This is exquisite... Though I find something relatively disappointing; the idea of Skull Island sinking...is actually a canonical idea taken over from Son of Kong, when the island sinks below the waves during the film's climax. They even mention that Carl Denham makes a return trip to the island...So my question is...why couldn't they mention the Son of Kong? Give us the idea that Denham makes claims of seeing a smaller Albino Megaprimatus on the island, and even befriending it...but because the island sank and the animal died, he has no ways of proving it.

Imma tell my kids this is a real documentary.

Someone should make a video ranking the most dangerous depictions of Skull Island

They did a Jurassic park reference with the raptor.

I love this 2005 king Kong better than the 2017 because most of the creatures in the movie were based off of prehistoric beasts that actually existed 💯

God I love Peter Jackson’s imagination and sense of humor!

I remember thinking that skull island was real & wanted to go on a big boat to search for it

I love peter Jackson’s Skull island more than MV skull island.

Pretty cool. Funny how they filmed this making it sound like a real place.

“THREE MAGAZINES ON BACK UP!!!”

It was kind of depressing note to end on

God for being fictional, this stuff is really fascinating.

When I was a kid, I thought this was real.

This documentary is better than the hobbit

By far the best version of Skull Island

The dinosaurs on skull island have evolved for centuries. I also believe they changed their dna by being more intelligent and possibly become more aware of predators . Skull island is one place I would want to explore and study .

I used to believe this as a kid.

This is great. I love the deep lore this series has.

I really like these mockumentary features for movies and TV shows!

I was pretty surprised they didn't mentioned a high rate of carbon recycle on that island. Basically almost everything that was generated from that island came to that island again and again. Which might explains why there are so many predators that could've preyed on another predator thus establishing a hyper-Competitive environment like skull island. This reminds me of the snake island in Pacific ocean where they lacked herbivores so they had to resort on carnivores to carnivores diet, which means every snake on that island survived these days due to preying on each other. Each species tried to out compete each other to become top of food chain and as the result many snakes reached maturity early due to their need of reproduction to ensure sustainability and competitiveness from their environment and this also recreates a diversification of snakes on that island since they developed particular way to outcompete other snake in their environment. The skull island i think with high amount of predator and decreased amount of prey would've resorted to such action over time. And i think it would end up to be one of the most dangerous place on earth for unarmed human.

They should make a new video game for this

My 8 year old self actually fell for this back in the the late 2000s!

This is the kind of thing only Peter Jackson would do

Damn these concept arts are amazing

2005 Kong is my favorite version

The only problem with this is the fact they are comparing Skull islands dinosaurs to dinosaurs that lived no where near Skull Islands geographical location. For example, they compared/based the V Rex, off the T Rex, except this island is off the coast of Indonesia. But T Rex was the apex predator of North America in its time. It would be more accurate to say the V Rex was based off an Asian Tyrannosaur like Tarbosaurus. That would be more realistic

I love this Skull Island more, just because of the dinosaurs

I almost felt that this theory was real

I remember watching this on the DVD when it came out, and I actually believed it and I thought it was real, only now watching this video again after all these years, reading the description and the comments, It is not real😂

The only issue with this documentary is it's length. It could've been at least 30 mins or even more and I wouldn't mind. TBH, the Skull Island itself was the most fascinating thing about Peter Jackson's movie. BTW, I can't believe there's people here genuinely believing this FICTIONAL documentary depicted real events. 😂

The stupidity in the comments is why the pastor drives a Bentley.

I wonder if a V-Rex could beat a Skullcrawler in a fight.

Wow! Amazing documentay

I KNEW King Kong was a documentary!!!!

THANKS FOR THIS!!!!!!! Kong fan since I first saw the original when I was about 9 in '71

If there was a real Skull Island and haven't sink into the ocean. How many of you guys would go and visit Skull Island? I would tbh

The new James wan & Disney+ King Kong skull island prequel / origin series should be set in peter Jackson’s King Kong movie based on the man who survived skull island the one that Andy Serkis’ character is talking about and or the guy who survived and made the map that Jack gets coz I believe Jackson’s skull island will forever be the best looking skull island there ever will be because the one in Kong skull island was extremely dull and kinda lack luster.

Dear Billy this island is hell

Wish it was longer than it is. Like an hour long docu would be cool!

Peter Jackson needs to make a dinotopia movie.

I wish this place existed in real life

... aaand the legendary monsterverse flushed all of this world building down the toilet.

Do you want to visit skull island? Play King Kong video game for PS2 or Xbox 360.

I managed to expand more on the Peter Jackson’s King Kong universe by including my own fan fiction. This cinematic series would’ve included the prequel from before the 1933 events explaining the story of the castaway who made the map of skull island and the The 1934 expedition based on the documentary and encyclopedia book which would’ve acted as a sequel to the 2005 film and all of the main characters would make a comeback. The 1934 expedition would’ve encountered many of the creatures from the first film as well as being introduced to newer ones and Kong’s Son. but along the way, this research team would face a very dangerous and powerful rival…the German army. The German army are preparing to capture the creatures and use them for military purposes to overthrow their enemies. It will be up to The protagonists to stop them and put an end to their cruelty. my version of skull island would not sink and be lost to the sea like the documentary/encyclopedia mentioned. But rather, the island and all the animals survived the catastrophic earthquake… This is where a new enemy would be introduced. around 1948, a secretive and millennial old organization known as “The Order Of Chiros”, whom has mass influence over different nations, made up the story that the island sunk to cover up its existence from the public and so they can keep the island and its secrets to themselves. This is where a sequel trilogy will jump in. taking place in the future/modern times, the sequels would be inspired by the Kong:Animated series (2001). Minus the whole cyber-link sequence. This will explain the story of a college archeologist graduate student, Jason Jenkins, becoming infatuated by his grandmother’s research about the once mysterious and legendary Skull Island. But it’s only a matter of time before his infatuated becomes his obsession, leading to put his friends and close people in danger. He would later encounter The Order of Chiros, a militant organization that plans to rule the entirety of the earth through the use of an ancient artifact known as “The Primal Stone”. This would go more into depth about the history and of the once Great Civilization that once ruled skull island before it went into desertion and ruins. For both Jason and the Organization want to unlock the islands secrets… My sequel trilogy would have Tomb raider, Uncharted and Indians Jones elements of inspiration as you can see. If only I had a job at universal and had Peter Jackson to hear my idea so this can become a real thing :(

I love the ferracutus and the venatosaurus

Awesome fictional documentary.

It just crossed my mind... what if umbrella corporation got a hold of this hellhole of an evolution

Thats why 2017 Skull Island is different, they decided to destroy the island in the original movie franchise

There's a tribe deep in the Congo that say they see gigantic lizards and a brontosaurus till this day sometimes

When I was a kid i used to believe this.

What if Skull Island is located in another dimension and the fog (1976/2005) / storm (2017) is a gateway from our to theirs 🤷🏽‍♂️