With a release date pencilled in for next June, Fox is moving fast putting together Rise Of The Apes, its prequel/reboot of the Planet Of The Apes franchise. James Franco has already been drafted in as the lead, with Freida Pinto, Don Cheadle and John Lithgow also onboard, while Andy Serkis will once more go motion capture, playing the lead ape (which will be CGI in this version), Caesar.
Now a new cast member has leapt onto the project, with TheWrap reporting that Brian Cox will play the villainous owner of a primate sanctuary who runs the facility without compassion for the animals that live there. Sounds like it’s his fault the apes revolt, as the plot revolves around genetic engineering into a cure for Alzherimer’s, which leads to the animals becoming hyper-intelligent. While James Franco’s scientist tries to protect the newly smart Caesar, eventually he and his simian brothers revolt!
Filming is set to begin on July 5th, under the direction of Rupert Wyatt.