‘Planet of the Apes’ Reveals First Look and Title of Next Film

It’s time to return to the Planet of the Apes.

20th Century Studios announced today that the next installment in the long-running sci-fi franchise will go into production next month. They also revealed the film’s official title: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, while also confirming the rumor that the movie is not some kind of remake or reboot, but rather a continuation of the most recent Planet of the Apes trilogy that began with 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes and concluded with 2017’s War For the Planet of the Apes.

The official press release describes the project thusly:

This film starts an all-new chapter in the “Planet of the Apes” saga, picking up many years after the conclusion of 2017’s “War for the Planet of the Apes.” The screenplay is by Josh Friedman (“War of the Worlds”), Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”), and Patrick Aison (“Prey”). Joe Hartwick Jr. (“The Maze Runner” trilogy), Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver and Jason Reed (“Mulan”) are the film’s producers. Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping are the executive producers.

Here is the full concept art drawing that they also unveiled today as well:

While Kingdom is set in the same fictional universe as the previous Apes trilogy that starred Andy Serkis as the ape leader Caesar, he will not appear in the film. Instead It’s Owen Teague will star, along with Freya Allen and Peter Macon. The film will be directed by The Maze Runner’s Wes Ball.

Will the Apes series once again return to the franchise’s central metaphors about racial and social strife? A movie set far after the events of War could potentially take the franchise in a totally new direction — and after nine previous movies, a little change of pace wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is expected to premiere in theaters in 2024.