Deadline says a sequel to this summer’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes is still in the “idea stage”, but the site reports Fox has closed “a healthy seven-figure deal for Andy Serkis to reprise his role as lead ape Caesar.”
While director Rupert Wyatt and screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver were already locked for a sequel, Serkis only signed for one film, which gave him some negotiating leverage. The signing is significant as not even James Franco or Freida Pinto are locked in for the sequel. Then again, their importance may not be as pivotal to the next story.
It was recently revealed the original ending to the first film had Franco’s character, Will, dying as he was caught in the crossfire between Caesar and the military trying to stop the ape uprising. It will be interesting to see if they decide to bring Franco back, especially considering the ending as it was in the final cut of the film still doesn’t depend on his involvement.
As far as sequel ideas go, Wyatt did have some comments while doing press for the film’s theatrical release telling Bleeding Cool:
The ideas I’ve had are all sorts of things, ranging from Full Metal Jacket with apes… you could start this story again eight years from where we left off, the next generation of apes, those that have come from our protagonists, perhaps going in to a conflict with humans and showing real fear, in the same way as going into war for young soldiers in this day and age, telling their story. Or how apes are taking over cities, and being moved into human environments and having to interact with them and deal with things that are part of our culture and understand and evolve through them. Spies that are in the employ of the apes, working against humans and humans maybe existing underground, because that’s a way they can avoid the virus, coming up above ground wearing gas masks, and maybe that’s what dehumanizes them.
Whatever they decide to do I’m down as I thought the first film was a great start, with plenty of potential to really create a great franchise.
The question still remains as to whether Fox will attempt to campaign for an Oscar nomination for Serkis for his role in Apes, and while I have him included in my predictions, I’m already on record with my thoughts on whether or not he has a chance.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes hits DVD and Blu-ray on December 13. You can get more on those releases here.
