The three-time Survivor player has made it big in the world of film and television production, as Jonathan Penner aims to take on a King Kong TV show.
While plenty of Survivor players get their foot in the door through their appearances on the show, Jonathan Penner was something of a commodity within Hollywood before Survivor Cook Islands ever aired. He was nominated for an Academy Award back in 1994 for the Live Action Short Film category, although Down on the Waterfront did not win.
Alas, with the surprise success of The Bye Bye Man (more than tripling its budget at the box office), Jonathan Penner has been given the opportunity to work on something much bigger. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he will work with The Bye Bye Man director Stacey Title (also his wife) in co-writing the script and co-executive producing a King Kong Skull Island television series.
Following up on the success of the film of the same name released earlier this year, Jonathan Penner will work on the series in cooperation and approval from the estate of the King Kong author, further solidifying the chances that this series will get picked up. Currently working with MarVista Entertainment and IM Global in transforming DeVito ArtWorks’ Skull Island and Merian C. Cooper’s King Kong, the series has yet to be pitched to networks.
Should it come to fruition, it likely shuts the door on Jonathan Penner coming back to Survivor anytime soon, if not ever again. He’s provided plenty of entertaining quips, strategies and overall fun moments to the show across three seasons, and he’s said he’s open to competing again in the past, admitting to “being in the mix” for Survivor Game Changers.
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There’s an outside chance that he could be asked back somewhere down the line after the show is over, but considering Jonathan Penner is 55 years old right now, this could be it for island adventures not in the shape of a skull.