‘War for the Planet of the Apes’, the third film in the modern reincarnation of the original 1968 classic ‘Planet of the Apes’, will be released in 2017 with the first images from the filmed being made public.
It’s a very primitive, if I may say, image from the early stages of filming. Director Matt Reeves shared the picture via his twitter account and it seems to show two actors in motion capture suits suggesting this particular scene features some apes. Perhaps Caesar is on the horse? Despite there being little to delve into with this image, its beach location does recall the original starring Charlton Heston. Andy Serkis is returning as the popular leader of the apes with Steve Zahn joining the project as an ape as well. Woody Harrelson comes on in a human capacity along with Gabriel Chavarria.
The franchise is quite interesting, because the films just keep surprising with their success. While Mark Wahlberg’s 2001 stand alone reboot was somewhat of a flop the more recent offerings have all been strong. James Franco and director Rupert Wyatt started things with ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ in 2011 in a film that was genuinely touching. A good reimagining of the old classic had finally been done. It seemed as though it would have been a good idea to leave it at that. A sequel wasn’t entirely necessary, nor did the box office demand it, although it was successful grossing $176 million across the USA, well and truly beating it’s budget. However, when ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ was announced with new director Matt Reeves and a new lead in Jason Clarke it felt unexpected and had us wondering if the audience enthusiasm would be there. Apparently it was because the 2014 film was even more successful than its predecessor, grossing $208 million.
So now it makes more sense for another film to be made. One, because the money seems to guaranteed, and two, the previous film ended with much more scope for a follow-up.
It’s a fair bet that the new film will end the trilogy with Andy Serkis being the only common denominator throughout the storyline. Every main human character has been different in each movie but that’s irrelevant in a way, because Caesar is the hero of the story.
With the calendar marked for a 2017 release the hunger in fans should have grown again for what will probably be the biggest film the franchise has offered so far.