James Franco to Star in Planet of the Apes Prequel, Rise of the Apes
Posted 05.21.10 by BrentJS
When it was recently announced that 20th Century Fox was planning a modern-day prequel to the Planet of the Apes franchise, the June 24, 2011 release date given for the movie seemed overly optimistic, especially considering it will likely be heavy on special effects However, the project is apparently in high gear with the recent announcement that Rise of the Apes (tentative title) will begin production on July 5th, with Golden Globe-winning actor James Franco headlining.
According to Deadline, Franco was signed on to star in Rise of the Apes after meeting with director Rupert Wyatt (The Escapist) last week to discuss a possible collaboration. The movie, described as a "reality-based cautionary tale" in the brief synopsis released by Fox, focuses on the potentially disastrous consequences of man's tampering with genetics — in this case, the creation of apes intelligent enough to want to wage war on humanity. Franco will play a scientist caught in the middle of the human-ape conflict.
It's still unclear at this time if Rise of the Apes will be a prequel to the 1968 original movie or to Tim Burton's 2001 reboot.
Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver wrote the Rise of the Apes screenplay and are producing along with Dylan Clark and Peter Chernin of Chernin Entertainment. Visual effects will be done by Peter Jackson's WETA Digital.
Next Showing: Rise of the Apes (Tentative Title) opens June 24, 2011