It wasn’t even, like the pandemic thriller Contagion, about the practical side of what should or shouldn’t be done in such a crisis. Laboring under the plot mechanics of moving toward a world dominated by intelligent apes rather than humans - an intelligence-boosting drug intended to cure dementia, a deadly virus decimating human populations - it was all about the how, and not really about the why, or what it would reveal about us, or why it would matter. Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a popcorn pre-apocalypse that devoted most of its brain power to mundane questions of sci-fi plausibility, a bit to character drama and virtually none to subtext or theme. It will be really exciting to see on the biggest screen possible.Nothing in the well-made but prosaic 2011 reboot hinted at the power of this film, a worthy successor to the best of the original films, with their cautionary parables about man’s inhumanity to man set in a topsy-turvy Twilight Zone world of intelligent apes and animal-like humans. We will feel like we're part of that original trilogy, but at the same time, we're able to do some really cool new stuff. Josh Friedman is writing this thing, a lot of the same crew is kind of involved. The original writers and producers that came up with Rise and Dawn, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, they're also on board with this. I'll say this, for fans of the original three don't worry – you're in good hands. "We have a way of staying in the universe that was created before us, but we're also opening ourselves up in being able to do some really cool new stuff. In an interview with Discussing Film last year, Ball said the following: Later that year, director Wes Ball was announced to write and direct the fourth film. It wasn't until April 2019 that Disney confirmed that future Apes films were indeed in development, all of which would take place in the same universe as the reboot trilogy. In the months prior, director Matt Reeves expressed an interest in returning to do more sequels. Rumors of a fourth film have been circulating since before War was even released in 2017. While the third film felt like a real ending, this is anything but the end for the reboot series. Related: Avatar 2 Release Date, Plot, Title, Trailer, Cast, Updates & Everything You Need to Know Planet of the Apes 4 Cast It's likely a sequel was never intended, though, and that the trilogy was simply establishing its own version of the events that precede the idea of a 'Planet of the Apes', without actually planning to go there. With all that said, War does indeed set the stage for a re-adaptation of the original: it introduces a younger version of the character Nova from 1968 original, while also explaining why humans are so scarce, why they're unable to speak, and why apes have been able to thrive and take over the planet. Nevertheless, seeing the earth now teeming with an ape population from the perspective of a character who has been quite literally out of the loop since before the simian flu pandemic would be interesting. Such a reveal now would be redundant, seeing as the audience already knows this. And then there's the revelation that the planet in question is earth, which was the big twist in the 1968 film. While a box office hit, with some remarkable prosthetics and set pieces, the critics were unforgiving. Firstly, we've been there and done that with Tim Burton's poorly received 2001 remake. However, re-adapting the original would be tricky territory to navigate. They also received enormous praise for their revolutionary motion-capture performances, which we can't imagine even the upcoming Avatar 2 outdoing. The trilogy that started with 2001 hit Rise of the Planet of the Apes, continuing with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and concluding with War for the Planet of the Apes, with the last two entries helmed by The Batman director Matt Reeves, were critical and financial juggernauts. In fact, they've already confirmed that a fourth Apes film is in the works. There's really no escaping Planet of the Apes, especially now that Disney owns the rights, following the Fox acquisition. Then there's the animated series, live-action series, and the 1963 French novel upon which the original classic is based, Pierre Boulle's La Planete des Singes, which interwove social commentary on man's over-reliance on technology, and his relationship with primates, with a unique sci-fi fantasy epic.
WHERE TO STREAM RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES SERIES
If you aren't familiar with Planet of the Apes, whether it's the original film series that started way back in 1968, the 2001 remake by Tim Burton, or the ground-breaking 2011 reimagining by Rupert Wyatt that spawned two equally astonishing sequels, then it's fair to say you've been living in a "madhouse".