The cast for 20th Century Studios' Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has expanded.
According to Deadline, Travis Jeffery (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales), Neil Sandilands (Sweet Tooth), Sara Wiseman (One Of Us Is Lying), Ras-Samuel Welda’abzgi (The Clearing) and Lydia Peckham (Cowboy Bebop) have signed on for undisclosed roles in the upcoming science-fiction film, which will reportedly be set several years after the events of the previous installment, 2017's War for the Planet of the Apes.
The five actors join an ensemble cast that already includes Owen Teague (It), Freya Allen (The Witcher), Peter Macon (The Orville), Eka Darville (Jessica Jones) and Kevin Durand (X-Men Origins: Wolverine). Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is currently filming at Disney Studios Australia in Sydney, with The Maze Runner trilogy director Wes Ball at the helm. The film's script was penned by Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds), Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) and Patrick Aison (Prey).
Return to the Planet of the Apes
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will be the fourth installment in 20th Century's reboot film series, which began in 2011 with Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Following Rise's critical and commercial success, a sequel was greenlit, which became 2014's Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. A third film, War for the Planet of the Apes, was released in 2017 and concluded the story of the chimpanzee Caesar, who had been portrayed by veteran performance-capture actor Andy Serkis. Kingdom will be set "many years" after Caesar's death in War, with the film's concept art teasing the new state of the planet.
The first Planet of the Apes film was released in 1968 and was based on the novel by French author Pierre Boulle. The film focused on an astronaut, played by legendary actor Charlton Heston, who found himself stranded on a planet ruled by highly intelligent apes. The 1968 film is best known for its shocking conclusion, which revealed that the apes' planet was actually a post-apocalyptic Earth. The film was wildly popular with critics and audiences at the time, spawning four sequels and two television shows in the 1970s. After lying dormant for almost 30 years, the property was rebooted in 2001 with Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes remake, which was a commercial success but failed to leave much of an impression with critics.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is scheduled to be released in theaters on May 24, 2024.
Source: Deadline