By all accounts, Matt Reeves’ Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was considered a success across the board, bringing in a plump $707 million at the global office in the process. So, it came as no surprise when 20th Century Fox locked him down for the next chapter in the rebooted franchise — one which he is currently working on at this very moment.
And in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the director — who assumed control of the series in lieu of Rise‘s Rupert Wyatt — hinted at the direction that the threequel will take come release.
“What we are hoping to do in this next story is to cement Caesar’s position in Ape history. To make him a mythic character, almost like Moses. It’s going to press into some very painful emotional places for him.”
Undoubtedly, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes seeded Caesar’s rise to power of sorts, one that will surely serve as a jumping off point for the studio’s planned follow-up. As a matter of fact, Andy Serkis — the actor who provides voice and motion capture of the alpha primate — may be in contention to be nominated for a Best Supporting gong at this year’s Oscars, which would be a first for the industry.
Either way, Serkis also weighed in on the third entry into the franchise, stating that the ape community will face darker times in the wake of this year’s acclaimed sequel.
“The ape community has fallen apart. There’s potential war,” Serkis says of what he expects for the threquel. “He’s going to have to lead the apes in darker times. I think it’s going to be very powerful.”
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is set to arrive on Blu-Ray on December 2nd with the third, as-yet-untitled entry in the franchise scheduled for July 29th, 2016.