The population of the planet of the apes has grown by one as Deadline reports that William H. Macy (Shameless) has joined Wes Ball’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will pick up “many years” after 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes and launch “a brand new chapter” in the rebooted universe that began in 2011 with Rise of the Planet of the Apes. No other details of the film or its characters are known yet.
Macy joins a cast that includes Owen Teague (It), Freya Allan (The Witcher), Peter Macon (The Orville), Kevin Durand (Locke & Key), Travis Jeffery (Unbroken, Neil Sandilands (Sweet Tooth), Sara Wiseman (One Of Us Is Lying), Ras-Samuel Welda’abzgi (The Clearing) and Lydia Peckham (Cowboy Bebop).
For over 50 years, the Planet of the Apes franchise has been a massive staple in pop culture that has spanned film, TV, books and comics. The original series of films had five entries as well as two TV series with a remake of Planet of the Apes in 2001 from director Tim Burton that flopped critically and at the box office. The franchise was rebooted in 2011 with Rise of the Planet of the Apes from Rupert Wyatt followed by Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes from Matt Reeves.
The franchise has also been parodied several times in various forms of media, most famously in The Simpsons episode ‘A Fish Called Selma’ where washed-out actor Troy McClure, who you may remember from such films as The Revenge of Abe Lincoln and The President’s Neck is Missing, starred in a Broadway stage musical adaptation of Planet of the Apes during his career resurgence.
Production on Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will begin later this year.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will be released May 24th, 2024.
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.
Originally published January 12, 2023. Updated March 24, 2024.
