Yesterday at the Las Vegas Cinema Con trade show, Twentieth Century Fox announced their intentions to have a sequel to last year’s surprise hit Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes in production by the end of this summer for a presumable 2013 release. I have to wonder if anyone has told director Rupert Wyatt or star Andy Serkis?
Given the film’s box office last summer (nearly $482 million worldwide according to Box Office Mojo), it is a natural that Fox would want a follow up. And screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver stated that they have ideas of how to flesh a sequel out into a middle installment of a trilogy. Presumably, they are currently working on that right now.
Although he has often mentioned he is looking forward to directing a follow up, there has not been any official word that Wyatt has been signed by the studio. He just got Universal to pony up the money for his project Agent 13, which will star Charlize Theron, but that will probably take some work before it is able to go in front of cameras. Meanwhile, star Andy Serkis is off in New Zealand directing second unit and reprising his role of Gollum for Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit.
Now if this isn’t just a case of Fox talking big without anything concrete to back up their plans, then hopefully there has been some behind-the-scenes, hush-hush talks going on to line up the talent to make their hoped for schedule.
