Following Rupert Wyatt’s departure as director of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes we got a shortlist of directors last week, and now Deadline has confirmed that Matt Reeves will helm the sequel.
Reeves was the likely contender on 20th Century Fox’s list, which also included Rian Johnson (Looper) and Guillermo Del Toro. The director is best known for Cloverfield, but he’s also responsible for Let Me In which starred Chloe Grace Moretz and Kodi Smit-McPhee. Both have been well received so I feel the Apes will be in good hands with Reeves in charge.
The film has a completed script, penned by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, the writers of Rise of Planet of The Apes, and previously Rupert Wyatt said the sequel may take place several years after the events of the first film with humans potentially living underground and apes taking over cities, aided by a virus that causes the collapse of human society.
A May 23, 2014 release date has been set, and the studio intends to make it so Reeves will be jumping straight in.
