Self-isolation has led to a lot of movie rewatching, and in an attempt to be at least vaguely social, social media has become a big part of that. The Legendary Pictures Twitter account has been hosting watch parties of the various films in the Monsterverse, and a recent look back at Kong: Skull Island has revealed an easter egg that most viewers probably missed, though, when you see it, it makes perfect sense.
The Legendary Twitter account dropped the detail that the boat captained by John C. Reiley's Hank Marlow is called the Gray Fox. It's a name that certainly makes sense, it's a gray boat after all. But the title is actually a nod to the Metal Gear video game series of which director Jordan Vogt-Roberts is a big fan, so much so, he's working on making that movie as well.
The Metal Gear Solid game series follows a special operative named Solid Snake in game play that focuses on stealth and infiltration. Grey Fox is a character introduced in the very first game in 1987 who is rescued by Solid Snake. After nearly dying in the sequel, Grey Fox returns in franchise reboot Metal Gear Solid as a cyborg ninja who aids the hero on multiple occasions. This is perhaps the least weird thing to happen in the game.
Jordan Vogt-Roberts has been on board a Metal Gear movie since at least 2014 and while the process has been somewhat slow going, it does appear to be moving forward. Derek Connolly, who wrote Kong: Skull Island is handling screenplay duties and while we're likely far away from any official casting announcements, at least one big name actor, Oscar Isaac, has expressed interest in the role.
Whether the decision to name the boat the Gray Fox after Metal Gear was a directorial or a screenplay decision, the fact that both of the men with those jobs on Kong: Skull Island are now involved in the Metal Gear Solid movie, makes the reference far from shocking.
What the exact state of the Metal Gear Solid movie is right now is far from clear, it's no exaggeration to say that the games themselves are more than a little bonkers. Game director Hideo Kojima who created the series has never let sanity stand in the way of the story he wanted to tell. As such, making a movie that holds true to the games runs the risk of being convoluted and utterly strange. A more traditionally straight forward action/adventure story runs the risk of not feeling like Metal Gear. It likely makes the screenplay writing a unique balancing act.
If it does work, perhaps we'll see Jordan Vogt-Roberts directing other video game adaptations. He's talked about ideas he has for the Metroid and Zelda franchises before. The world is still waiting for the video game movie adaptation that legitimizes the medium in the eyes of the world.
