June 2011 Release Date Set for 'Rise of the Apes'

The new Planet of the Apes film, which as I suspected has undergone a name change, will be released on June 24, 2011. So says Latino Review, which also indicates that the movie formerly known as Caesar will now be called Rise of the Apes. About a month ago, I wrote, "I would not be the least bit surprised to see the name Planet of the Apes show up before it's all said and done...Hard to reboot a five-movie arc in the middle without the benefit of the brand name." So now it's Rise of the Apes and Rupert Wyatt (the gritBrit drama The Escapist) is directing, based on a script that began with Scott Frank, who was also going to direct early on, but the screenplay is now credited to co-producers Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa. If you're new to all of this and didn't even know there were other Apes movies after the Charlton Heston classic, Fox put out four more in quick succession, and right in the middle is one called Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, and it's probably the strongest of those sequels. Says Latino Review of the reimagined Conquest, "Set in present day San Francisco, the film is a reality-based cautionary tale, a science fiction/science fact blend, where man’s own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy." What that entails is man monkeying with apes, creating one named Caesar who develops self-awareness and a bit of a stubborn streak, leading an ape revolt that sets the rest of this universe in motion. Planet of the Apes is somewhere in the middle, chronologically. This film will clearly have nothing to do with Tim Burton's movie from a few years ago, and here's a switch: WETA Digital, the house that made all the Lord of the Rings effects, is creating photo-realistic apes. No more monkey suits, and that's probably best, especially for big throngs of primates. Shooting is scheduled to begin this July, leaving wyatt and the digital effects crew very little margin for error.