Kong is rather like the Sasquatch.  He’s hard to believe in.  The idea of a giant sea lizard who breathes fire created by an atomic bomb who can hide at the bottom of the ocean is more believable than a giant ape that is as tall as a mountain being able to hide from our eyes amongst the trees of a jungle.

Perhaps that’s why Kong is placed in the past.  Before satellites with HD eyes that can see the smoke of forest fires from space and zoom in on individual houses.  Before cellphone cameras and the internet where a single picture would race around the world in seconds.   Before we grew cynical of the world.

They are using a very similar tactic to what they used in the promotion of Godzilla, only showing pieces of the giant ape or a shot of him back lit by the sun.  It is, however, very effective, and the actors are doing a very good job of portraying the overwhelming fear one would feel in facing such a beast.

Legendary and Warner Bros are setting up a Kong vs Godzilla movie for 2020.  The second Godzilla movie is also in production.