Peter Jackson’s 2005 King Kong begins in 1933.
The film opens during the Great Depression, when filmmaker Carl Denham assembles a crew and travels aboard the S.S. Venture toward the mysterious Skull Island. The period setting is important because it places the story in the same broad historical era as the original 1933 King Kong.
Jackson’s version is a remake and expansion of the 1933 film rather than a modern-day retelling. It preserves the original story’s central ideas—an ambitious filmmaker, a dangerous expedition, and Kong’s capture—while adding more character development and extensive action sequences.
Viewers can confuse the date with the year of the original film’s release. Both films use 1933 as the story’s period setting, but Jackson’s production itself was released in 2005. The date also explains the film’s Depression-era costumes, technology, and entertainment world.