UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., March 30 /PRNewswire/ — Five-time Academy Award(R) nominee Peter Jackson will direct “King Kong” for Universal Pictures, it was announced today by Stacey Snider, Chairman, Universal Pictures. Jackson will begin work on the film immediately following the release of “The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King,” the third and final installment of his blockbuster trilogy based upon the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien. Jackson will write the screenplay with his partner Fran Walsh and “The Lord Of The Rings” co-writer Philippa Boyens. Jackson and Walsh will produce the film under their WingNut Films banner. Universal Pictures will release “King Kong” worldwide in 2005. [More]

TheOneRing.net has independently confirmed this story to be true. The big monkey is coming back to the screen!