When it comes to head spinning franchise chronologies, Planet Of The Apes takes some beating. Since that breathtaking Statue of Liberty denouement to Franklin J. Schaffner’s original 1968 movie, we’ve had four direct sequels (Beneath The, Escape From, Conquest Of, and Battle For The Planet Of The Apes), a modern reboot trilogy (Rise Of, Dawn Of, and War For The Planet Of The Apes), the first chapter of a planned sequel trilogy to the reboot trilogy (Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes), and that Mark Wahlberg one. Still following? Cool. Because now we’re getting a new Planet Of The Apes movie that isn’t connected to any of the others!
Per Deadline’s reporting, The Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman and that movie’s co-writer, Josh Friedman (also, notably, a writer on Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes and Avatar: Fire And Ash), have signed on to tackle a new, as-yet-untitled original Apes movie for 20th Century Studios. And while Deadline is quick to state that the nature of this new film and its potential connection to the wider Apes universe is unconfirmed, it is believed that this won’t be a follow-up to Wes Ball’s $397 million grossing critically and commercially successful Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes. In fact, the future of any sequels to that movie, set 300 years after Caesar breathed his last, remains very much up in the air at the moment — not least because Wes Ball is currently still off battling bokoblins as he gets his Legend Of Zelda movie ready for release next year.
Precious little else is known about Shakman and Friedman’s take on Planet Of The Apes at this point beyond the fact it’s in development, so we’ve no plot details, casting, or even rough timeframes for shooting or release to offer up just yet. We do at least know that longtime Apes producers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver are aboard the latest instalment in the nearly $2 billion grossing franchise. Who knows, by the time this next chapter in the saga of apes and man hits our screens, maybe we’ll have finally wrapped our heads around how everything does or doesn’t connect and what exactly Tim Burton was thinking back in 2001. Maybe…