Matt Reeves, director of Fox’s upcoming Dawn of the Planet of the Apes sequel coming to theaters this summer, has already agreed to not only direct but co-write a third film in the burgeoning modern Planet of the Apes film franchise.
Deadline was the first to report that Reeves screened an early cut of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes to 20th Century Fox and Chernin Entertainment, and shortly afterward a deal was struck for Reeves to co-write the third film with Mark Bomback, one of Dawn’s screenwriters. Reeves will apparently jump directly from Dawn into the third untitled film that has not been greenlit or has a release date.
Fox and Chernin executives must have been blown away by what they saw from Dawn to turn around so quickly and lock up Reeves for the third film before Reeves’ schedule got booked with something else. It is expected that Reeves will jump into Planet of the Apes 3 immediately following post-production and publicity rounds for Dawn.
In Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, eight years have passed after a deadly virus has driven the human race to near extinction. A band of human survivors will come face-to-face with Caesar and his growing apes civilization, where a war that could wipe out humans for good will erupt.
Starring in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes are Keri Russell, Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, and Andy Serkis as Caesar. The early trailers for Dawn paint a darker atmosphere and tone than Rise of the Planet of the Apes which saw Caesar evolve from a domesticated ape into the liberator of his newly intelligence-enhanced ape captives.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes will arrive in theaters on July 11.
Source: Deadline
