After several decades of attempts and one failed remake, the Planet of the Apes franchise was finally rejuvenated for the first time since the 1970s in 2011, when Rise of the Planet of the Apes was released. The film was so popular that two sequels were soon to follow, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes in 2014 and War for the Planet of the Apes in 2017. The films were all produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox, which was soon after bought by Disney. While fans were unsure what to expect, Disney made sure to confirm that they would continue the franchise under the newly branded 20th Century Studios. Now it appears that the next Planet of the Apes film could go into production this summer.
This was revealed in a new interview with THR, where 20th Century Studios president Steve Asbell explained that they’re currently expecting a new draft of the script. Once that hits, they intend to go into production either as soon as this summer, or as late as early fall. Either way, it looks like production is imminent.
As stated by Steve Asbell:
“We are expecting a draft very shortly, and it’s Wes Ball attached to direct. We hope to go by the late summer, early fall.”
It looks like fans can still expect filmmaker Wes Ball to direct the next production in the Planet of the Apes film franchise. The Batman director Matt Reeves tackled the previous two films, while Rupert Wyatt directed Rise of the Planet of the Apes. It’ll be interesting to see what direction the franchise takes next, both with this new director and Disney behind 20th Century Studios.
As such, fans can stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any updates on this Planet of the Apes project as we have them. Hopefully whatever happens, it lives up to the quality set by the previous trilogy and the original five films.