Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes Trailer Is Here!
Caesar dons his war paint.
It’s been more than two years since we last saw Caesar (Andy Serkis), at the end of 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The evolved ape was saying goodbye to his friend and creator Dr. Will Rodman (James Franco) as he prepared to embark on a new journey, one which would eventually lead to complete ape dominance over the world. Little did Dr. Rodman know that the very thing that created Caesar would also spell the end of all humanity, courtesy of the deadly Simian Flu. Now Twentieth Century Fox has released the first teaser trailer for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and it gives us a new look at the ape uprising.
The trailer looks great! It features a voiceover from Jason Clarke’s character, giving a speech to the last surviving humans on Earth. After the events of Rise, humanity spent four years fighting against the Simian Flu, then another four years fighting each other in a civil war. With dwindling numbers, it seems like it would be very easy for newly evolved apes to take over the world. We know from the end of the original Planet of the Apes that the apes didn’t kill off humanity — mankind brought about its own undoing. It looks like the rebooted film franchise is sticking with that notion.
Twentieth Century Fox also released the film’s official synopsis, which points to a budding war between man and ape. Considering that we know the inevitable outcome, it will still be interesting to see how Caesar will become the new leader of the world.
A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth’s dominant species.
While a majority of the original Planet of the Apes films are somewhat cheesy and dated, they still provide a good amount of mythology and science fiction for its fans. I’d really like to see time travel introduced into the reboot series at some point, maybe in the third film, because it played such a big part in the original movies. After all, the first few scenes of Planet of the Apes feature Charlton Heston’s astronaut George Taylor caught in a time warp, which transports him into the ape-dominated future.
Dawn takes place eight years after the events of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and the film’s structure will feature two storylines: one following a small group of human survivalists trying to find a cure, and the other focusing on Caesar’s dominance over the apes. It’s believed the two storylines will come together for an explosive climax.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes will star Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Nick Thurston, Toby Kebbell, Karin Konoval, Terry Notary, Judy Greer, and Andy Serkis as Caesar. Matt Reeves (Let Me In, Cloverfield) and screenwriter Mark Bomback (The Wolverine) rewrote Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver’s script. Jaffa and Silver also wrote Rise of the Planet of the Apes‘ original screenplay.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes will hit theaters everywhere on July 11, 2014, in 3D.
