A new entry in the long-running Planet of the Apes franchise is officially in the works—but before you get too excited, it sounds like we may not be getting any resolution on the cliffhanger that capped 2024’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Still, it could be worse: the director of the new film will be Matt Shakman, who proved his blockbuster bona fides with Marvel’s Fantastic Four: First Steps.
The decision not to pick up after Kingdom is a curious one, since Kingdom writer Josh Friedman (who also co-wrote Fantastic Four) is returning to script the new film. However, as Deadline reports, “Plot details are being kept under wraps other than the film making a return to the planet where Apes are the superior species ruling all. While not confirmed, sources tell Deadline this will not be a continuation of the most recent pic Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, but a new original story that Shakman and Friedman are developing.” We don’t know if that means it takes place within the Kingdom timeline or establishes a separate one.
For those keeping score, this will be the 11th Planet of the Apes movie in total. That said, there’s a significant split in plot and special effects between the five increasingly kooky original films (starting with 1968’s Charlton Heston-starring original and wrapping with 1973’s Battle for the Planet of the Apes) and the rebooted chronology that began in 2011 with the more serious-minded Rise of the Planet of the Apes, featuring Andy Serkis’ highly acclaimed motion-capture performance as the leading ape character, Caesar. (Tim Burton’s 2001 Planet of the Apes movie also exists in a weird vortex all its own.)
With that tidbit about the new film’s fresh approach to story (but not re-telling the “rise” part of ape domination), it’s anyone’s guess what this return to the Planet of the Apes might look like and what new characters we might meet. Prospective stars can start planning their “ape school” training now, at the very least.
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