Disney and 20th Century Studios are moving forward with another Planet of the Apes movie, but this latest installment in the classic sci-fi franchise is not expected to serve as a continuation of 2024's Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
Deadline reports that The Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman is set to helm the new film, with screenwriter Josh Friedman - who also co-wrote First Steps and Kingdom - on board to pen the script.
The trade notes that while nothing has been confirmed, the project is not expected to "be a continuation of the most recent pic Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, but a new original story that Shakman and Friedman are developing."
This news has left POTA fans somewhat baffled, since Kingdom was well-received by critics (80% on Rotten Tomatoes) and performed well at the box office, taking in almost $400 million worldwide on a budget of $160 million.
While this new Apes movie may not be a direct sequel to Kingdom, it doesn't sound like a full reboot. President of Production at 20th Century Studios, Steve Asbell, responded to the news with the following post.
The POTA franchise doesn't exactly have the most straightforward of chronologies, anyway. There have been four direct sequels to the '60s original (Beneath The, Escape From, Conquest Of, and Battle For), the recent reboot trilogy (Rise Of, Dawn Of, and War For), the first film in a planned sequel trilogy to the reboot trilogy (Kingdom), and Tim Burton's bizarre remake.
THR notes that "A sequel to Kingdom was talked about, but it is not clear where things stand with that."
Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, who were producers on the previous Apes films, are back for this latest movie, joined by Shakman. Exec VP of production, Scott Aversano, will be overseeing for 20th Century Studios.
Director Wes Ball breathes new life into the global, epic franchise, set several generations in the future following Caesar’s reign, in which apes are the dominant species living harmoniously and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is directed by Wes Ball (the Maze Runner trilogy) and stars Owen Teague (IT), Freya Allan (The Witcher), Kevin Durand (Locke & Key), Peter Macon (Shameless), and William H. Macy (Fargo).
The screenplay is by Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds) and Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (Avatar: The Way of Water) and Patrick Aison (Prey), based on characters created by Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver. The producers are Wes Ball, Joe Hartwick, Jr., p.g.a. (The Maze Runner), Rick Jaffa, p.g.a., Amanda Silver, p.g.a., Jason Reed, p.g.a. (Mulan), with Peter Chernin (the Planet of the Apes trilogy) and Jenno Topping (Ford v. Ferrari) serving as executive producers.