RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Sequel Hopes to Hit Theaters in Summer 2014

 

Rise of the Planet of the Apes was one of the biggest and best movie surprises of the year for me. Despite some godawful trailers, director Rupert Wyatt was able to provide a thrilling and personal story that put the apes (and WETA's visual effects) in the foreground. Whispers of a sequel have danced through the internets since the film's release, but in a recent interview with Fox head Tom Rothman, Collider was able to confirm its development and revealed their target release date.

I loved Rise of the Planet of the Apes.  What’s the status of the sequel?

Rothman: That’s very much on the tracks.  We’re developing a script.  Rupert Wyatt, who directed the first one, will direct the second one.  We’re pushing forward aggressively, so the script’s being written now.

Do you have an idea of a time frame you’d like to release it?

Rothman: Yeah, I think it would make sense if we can, you know we serve no wine before it’s time, but the goal for us would be summer of 2014, if that’s possible.

I find it refreshing that Rothman isn't rushing things on this movie. Far too often, we see studios setting release dates for tentpole films before scripts are even written, and we've seen a lot of examples (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Pirates 2 and 3) where that tactic has come back to bite them in the ass because the finished product feels sloppy. I've gotta admit: as a whole, I haven't been too impressed with Rothman's greenlight choices at Fox over the past few years...but if he continues to make smart decisions like this one, then I'm sure he'll turn things around quickly.

Do you want to see a sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes?

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