Here’s a little sample of ‘06 films coming to big screen

Sounding determined to continue giving audiences what they want until they just can’t take it anymore, Peter Jackson announced near the end of his online production diaries for “King Kong” that he would unleash yet another “Lord of the Rings”-like trilogy – except this time with monkeys instead of elves.

Jackson promised to go ape at intervals of six months, with “Son of Kong,” a remake of the original 1933 sequel, coming in June, and “King Kong: Into the Wolf’s Lair” at Christmas.

Mercifully, that turned out to be a hoax – the director’s idea of a joke.

But even without any further action in the jungle, there will be no shortage of remakes and sequels in the coming year.

The second of three “Pirates of the Caribbean” adventures, “Dead Man’s Chest,” arrives in July, and a remake of “The Pink Panther,” with Steve Martin, is due in February.

Here are a few other films to watch for in 2006:

“”Eight Below” (Feb. 17): With Paul Walker and Jason Biggs as its two-legged stars, this adventure picture is about a team of sled dogs stranded in Antarctica after the sudden collapse of a scientific expedition. These dogs are left alone for six months in the Antarctic winter, and the movie is the true story of their struggle to survive.

“”Cars” (June 9): The newest eye candy from Pixar Animation Studios, this is the story of a race car named Lightning McQueen (the voice of Owen Wilson) who learns to slow down and enjoy the ride while cruising along Route 66.

“”Apocalypto” (summer): After proving Hollywood wrong about the commercial prospects of “The Passion of the Christ,” which earned more than $300 million despite being spoken in Latin and Aramaic, Mel Gibson has been at it again with this end-of-days saga of the Mayan civilization. Once again, no English will be spoken in the film, which will feature mostly nonprofessional actors.

“”Babel” (fall): From the exciting Mexican director and writer of “Amores Perros” and “21 Grams,” Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Guillermo Arriaga, come four intersecting stories that begin with a shot fired in the Moroccan desert by two boys herding goats. The bullet changes the lives of an American couple (Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett), a deaf Japanese teenager and her father, and a Mexican nanny who takes the two American children in her care across the border without permission.

“”Zodiac” (no release date): Based on one of the nation’s most notorious unsolved murder sprees, this thriller from director David Fincher (“Seven”) tracks the serial killer who taunted San Francisco police with letters that he signed “Zodiac.” Shot on location in the San Francisco Bay area, it stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr. and Anthony Edwards.