For obvious reasons, it will be a while before cameras start rolling on the next Planet of the Apes movie. Regardless, the ongoing global pandemic hasn’t put a stopper on pre-production entirely. Director Wes Ball recently spoke to Discussing Film about how the film’s development is coming along. He also commented on how the movie will tie into earlier entries in the series.
Ball and his team have big shoes to fill following the success of the previous three Planet of the Apes films headlined by Andy Serkis’ Caesar. Although Disney owns the keys to the franchise after last year’s Fox merger, Ball insisted back in February that his movie won’t be another reboot. Still, he revealed that the story he plans on telling will feel fresh.
“Those last three movies are one of the great trilogies we have in modern movie history,” said Ball. “They are just so well done. They honored the original movies they sprang from, the Charlton Heston movies, but they grounded it in a modern sensibility and it just worked. Caesar is one of the great movie characters that we’ll have throughout time. So what do you do to follow that up, right? At the same time, I wasn’t interested in doing a part four either. We want to also do our own thing.”
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As Hollywood remains shut down, Ball’s crew is currently working on concept art and hashing out a script. Additionally, Ball confirmed that a few holdovers from the last three movies are coming along for the ride.
“I’ll say this, for fans of the original three don’t worry – you’re in good hands,” Ball continued. “The original writers and producers that came up with Rise and Dawn, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, they’re also on board with this. Josh Friedman is writing this thing, a lot of the same crew is kind of involved. 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. It will be really exciting to see on the biggest screen possible.”
Ball’s Planet of the Apes movie is still without a release date.
Are you excited to see what Ball and his team are planning? Tell us what you think in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: Planet of the Apes Omnibus
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