WARNING – SPOILERS FOR DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES!!
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was not only a critical smash, but also a big box office success with $707.5 million taken worldwide and its star Andy Serkis is rumoured to be getting an Academy Award Nomination for his performances as Caesar. With all this in mind, director Matt Reeves has been talking about the next instalment of the franchise with The Hollywood Reporter, saying that there could be a war despite Caesar’s wish to the contrary.
“What we are hoping to do in this next story is to cement Caesar’s position in Ape history. To make him a mythic character, almost like Moses,” Reeves says. “It’s going to press into some very painful emotional places for him.”
Andy Serkis, who will also be appearing in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, adds, “The ape community has fallen apart. There’s potential war. He’s going to have to lead the apes in darker times. I think it’s going to be very powerful.”
When asked about his possible Oscar-winning performance Serkis says, “”[it’s] no less than conventional acting. You are climbing into a role, losing yourself in a role, playing it to its fullest extent. The fact that you are not wearing a costume is the only difference. Then that performance is manifested on screen by visual effects. But it is not enhanced, it is not changed. It’s just acting.”
Serkis also adds that he sat down with Reeves last night for the first time to really talk about what they want to do for the next Planet of the Apes movie. Toby Kebbell, who has recently spoken out about his role in Fantastic Four, is also keen to make it for the third movie, despite his character dying at the end of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
“I am hoping there is a way to resurrect Koba,” says Kebbell. “If not, I would love to come back to do performance capture on other characters.”
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is released on DVD and Blu-Ray here in the UK on 24th November
Originally published November 11, 2014. Updated October 24, 2022.
