King Kongis parlaying the success of Netflix’s Skull Island animated series with comic book continuations of the story. Return to Skull Island and its follow up, Escape From Skull Island, extend the show’s storyline, promising to make 2026 just as big a year for the Kong franchise and the wider Monsterverse at large as 2025 was.
The four-issue Return to Skull Island miniseries was written by Simon Furman, with art by Chris Jones, and published this year. The same creative team returns in 2026 for the sequel series, Escape.
The comics are the “official continuation” of the Netflix anime series, which captured the attention of a whole new set of King Kong fans.
Netflix’s Popular Monsterverse Series “Skull Island” Continues In A Series Of Comic Books
Return To Skull Island #1-4, Written By Simon Furman; Art By Chris Jones; Published In 2025
Return to Skull Island brought back familiar characters from Netflix’s Skull Island series and sent them on another adventure to the eponymous location, Kong’s homeland. The sequel, Escape from Skull Island, is set to do the same, but it will also notably double as a prequel, thanks to “flashbacks reveal[ing] Kong’s turbulent youth,” according to the synopsis for issue #1.
In other words, it will be a key piece of the puzzle for the larger Monsterverse that King Kong and Skull Island are part of. It’s also a novel development for one of American pop culture’s oldest franchises; King Kong has never received an origin story before, despite many incarnations in film and other media.
As such, it’s a chance for the Monsterverse to forge new ground for the character. Readers will learn more about the franchise’s heroic version of King Kong, while also getting Skull Island’s signature brand of action-adventure. For now, it seems like this is how the TV series will continue, in lieu of a second TV season.
“Return” And “Escape” Are The Official Sequels To “Skull Island,” In Case The Show Doesn’t Come Back
Escape From Skull Island #1, Written By Simon Furman; Art By Chris Jones; Coming In 2026
It has been reported that Return to Skull Island, the comic series, is at least partly based on the outline for Season 2 of Skull Island. It is unclear, at the moment, if Escape is also part of that outline, or if it evolved out of the process of adapting the plan for the show into Return’s four issues.
In any case, the comics represent the show’s creators’ vision for the next chapter. It also bodes well for the comics’ canon status. If a second season of the show is eventually developed, it will likely be set after the comics, meaning they will be important reading for fans who want the full story of King Kong’s latest era.
- Release Date
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2023 – 2023-00-00
- Network
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Netflix
- Directors
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Amanda Sitareh B.
- Writers
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Brian Duffield
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Nicolas Cantu
Charlie (voice)
