There has been talk for a while that 20th Century Fox were thinking about bringing the Planet of the Apes world back to life. Some thought it would be a remake of Conquest of the Apes, however now have some new information courtesy of Chud:
Fox is still excited about this property, and now they’ve put the film into the hands of writer/director Scott Frank. The film is now called Caesar.
Caesar is not a remake of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. This is a fact that Frank can’t stress to you enough – his film will not feature talking monkeys, and it will not end with chimpanzees running wild in the streets, taking over the world. But it isn’t entirely divorced from the world of Planet of the Apes, either. In fact, Frank sees his movie as the opening chapter in a saga that could span the thousand years between today and a world where apes rule.
What’s most exciting about Caesar is that Frank is committed to telling a hard science fiction story. The science that creates a hyper-intelligent chimpanzee is based on current real world research – this film would just take that science one step further. He’s also committed to telling a story based on character, not antic ape action. His plan for Caesar is one where you come to really feel for this ape, even as the final act sees him taking actions that may be hard for us to agree with.
Scott Frank is the writer behind Minority Report, so the idea doesn’t seem all that bad. Tim Burton’s 2001 remake was just a popcorn blockbuster flick. If they make a dark sci-fi Planet of the Apes movie then I will be first in line to see it.
