Marvel Comics Announces a PLANET OF THE APES Prequel Series BEWARE THE PLANET OF THE APES
Marvel Comics and its 20th Century Studios imprint have announced that they are developing a Planet of the Apes prequel series titled Beware the Planet of the Apes. This is going to be a four-issue limited series set before the events of the original Planet of the Apes movie.
The comic will also be styled after the iconic 1968 simian sci-fi staple and the story will explore the origins of the primitive human woman named Nova (Linda Harrison). The synopsis reads:
Into the Forbidden Zone! In a hostile world run by aggressive gorillas, scientists Cornelius and Zira are the only apes alive who see value in the mute, dumb human race—but even they know human capabilities have severe limits. So when their nephew Lucius goes missing, it is with great trepidation that they turn to a human ally, a young woman who will someday earn the moniker 'Nova.'
The comic is coming from writer Marc Guggenheim (X-Men: Days of Future Past – Doomsday, Star Wars: Han Solo & Chewbacca) and artist Álvaro López (Captain Marvel, Ka-Zar Lord of the Savage Land). Guggenheim said in a statement:
"I've been entertained and intrigued by Planet of the Apes ever since I got a Mego Doctor Zaius doll as a birthday present, and my local television station ran the original pentalogy every afternoon for a week in the summertime. In many ways, Apes is one of the OG franchises, filled with mystery, fascinating characters, and some truly off-the-wall surprises.
"That's the spirit I'm working to evoke with Beware the Planet of the Apes. I'm particularly excited that we're going to be reusing some of [writer] Doug Moench, [artist] George Tuska, and [artist] Alfredo Alcala's original Marvel work on Adventures on the Planet of the Apes as a part of our storytelling." Moench wrote Marvel's 1970s color comic adaptations of the film series illustrated by Tuska and Alcala, as well as new original Apes stories first published in 1974.
Marvel also revealed the Beware the Planet of the Apes #1 cover by Taurin Clarke (Black Panther, Marvel's Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season 2). Beware the Planet of the Apes #1 is on sale January 3rd, 2024.
