NEW YORK —  Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson is still thinking big -- he'll follow up his epic trilogy with another cinematic monster: King Kong.

Jackson will begin work on his version of the classic giant gorilla story immediately following the Dec. 17 release of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the third and final installment in his mega-grossing series.

The director wrote the script for King Kong, due for release in 2005, with his partner Fran Walsh and Rings co-writer Philippa Boyens.