The next installment in the Planet of the Ape movies is coming at us, and Freya Allan, who plays Ciri on Netflix’s The Witcher, is on board in the leading non-ape (a.k.a. human) role.
Allan joins Owen Teague on the call sheet, with the It actor playing the lead ape. Peter Macon, who plays Bortus on The Orville, is also in the film, though we don’t know if he will be an ape or non-ape. With Allan’s casting, the movie is heading toward production next month with The Maze Runner filmmaker Wes Ball in the director’s chair.
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“Planet of the Apes is one of the most iconic and storied science fiction franchises in film history, as well as being an indelible part of our studio’s legacy,” Steve Asbell, President of 20th Century Studios, said in a statement. “With Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes we are privileged to continue the series’ tradition of imaginative, thought-provoking cinema, and can’t wait to share Wes’ extraordinary vision for this new chapter with audiences in 2024.”
We don’t know much about the plot of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, though 20th Century Studios says this film will start “an all-new chapter” in the franchise and will take place “many years” after the end of 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes. The newly released photo (pictured above) features buildings that have been in decay for what looks like at least decades, so it looks like the characters from the previous films are most likely long gone.
I enjoyed the recent Apes movies, and I have to admit that I’m a bit worried with Ball directing this one, as The Maze Runner movies aren’t what I would call good cinema. But who knows? Perhaps the director and his bro-like tendencies have changed since his last Maze Runner movie dropped in 2018. One can hope, and we can see the ultimate result when Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes premieres in theaters sometime in 2024.
