Zero Dark Thirty star Jason Clarke has signed on to star in the upcoming Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the Matt Reeves-directed followup to 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The news arrives courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter and the article also makes note of a few minor plot details.

Dawn, the outlet reports, is set 15 years after the events of Rise and finds most of humanity wiped out and the intelligent apes ruling over the world. Part of the film's focus is said to be on a small group of San Francisco-based scientists that are forming a resistance against the apes and part follows Andy Serkis' Caesar as he, like his namesake, tries to maintain order and power within his new civilization.

Featuring a screenplay by Scott Z. Burns, Amanda Silver, Rick Jaffa and Mark Bomback, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes hits theaters on May 23, 2014.

(Photo Credit: Brian To / WENN.com)