Fox released the first trailer for Rise of the Planet of the Apes late last night and with it comes our first good look at where the next film in the Apes franchise will go.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes is an origin story centered around the ape Caesar, and will follow him from his birth through to when he liberates his species. Unlike past apes films, Caesar and his furry friends are being created digitally by WETA using an advanced version of the mo-cap technologies used for James Cameron’s Avatar.
I’ve always assumed Rise of the Planet of the Apes would show how James Franco experiments on Caesar resulting in the ape becoming intelligent. What was a mystery, up until this trailer, was how widespread the ape rebellion would reach. It would appear that the film’s third act will feature an all-out battle between apes and mankind taking place in and around San Francisco, from the city streets to the Golden Gate Bridge.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes stars James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, and Andy Serkis doing the mo-cap and vocal work (he will not speak words will make noise) for Caesar. Rupert Wyatt directed the film from a script by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver.
The apes will rise on August 5.
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Watch the Rise of the Planet of the Apes trailer in HD by downloading it in 1080p at Apple, or watch the WETA livecast interview with a pair of SFX artists and Andy Serkis that discusses the film’s effects and furry characters below.
