Planet of the Apes prequel gets a director

Back in 2008 we heard that 20th Century Fox had hired Minority Report writer Scott Frank to write and direct a new Planet of the Apes film called Caesar, which followed a hyper-intelligent chimp raised by humans who incites a worldwide ape revolution and causes the downfall of humankind.

Since then Scott Frank has left the project, and now according to Deadline newcommer Rupert Wyatt (The Escapist) has been hired to develop the project and direct.

Chud, who have been following this movie for years, also got some details on the story. Caesar: Rise of the Apes revolves around a doctor (Will) trying to cure Alzheimers, a disease that afflicts his father. He’s working with monkeys to create a benign virus that can get into brain tissue and restore functionality. After his research is shut down he’s left with just one chimp, the child of his most promising subject. Young Caesar is incredibly intelligent for an ape, and over time he continues to mutate and evolve, looking less like a chimp and moving on from sign language to actual speech. Eventually Caesar ends up leading an army of apes in an uprising just as a catastrophe strikes mankind.

Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes in 2001 was a wasted opportunity to reinvent the franchise, which given the subject matter, had the potentially to be a great sci-fi movie. Apparently Caesar: Rise of the Apes will leave the door open for another movie, so we could have a badass Planet of the Apes trilogy on our hands.

No start date has been set, although with a director onboard there should be developments in the future.