Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Producers Hoping for Five Sequels

Back in 2011, Rise of the Planet of the Apes marked an ambitious effort to revive the Planet of the Apes franchise that had been dormant for a decade, though that gamble paid off for producers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, as the series has earned three follow-up films since that cutting-edge experience. The pair recently confirmed that their latest entry, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, is their fourth of a planned nine films for the series, which would mean we have yet to cross the halfway point of their expectations. Whether we get five more movies, however, is based on interest from audiences.

While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Silver explained, “When you first came up with this idea, the Apes franchise way back, you saw nine movies. We thought, ‘This is crazy ambitious.’ But here we are. We’re at four.”

Jaffa continued, “I saw nine. I don’t know if we’ll make it to nine. I would love it. We’ve spoken to not just [Kingdom director] Wes [Ball] and [writer] Josh [Friedman] and [producer] Joe Hartwick Jr., but to Steve Asbell and Scott Aversano at 20th about what these next movies can be.”

“With Kingdom, we really feel like we’ve set the foundation for at least two more movies with these characters. But we’ll see. A lot of it depends on the audience’s reaction, too,” Jaffa added.

The first entry into the series was 1968’s Planet of the Apes, which was based on the novel La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle. The debut entry earned four direct sequels, the last of which, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, was released in 1973. 30 years later, director Tim Burton aimed to revive the series with a reboot, and while that 2001 project was a modest financial success, it was a critical failure.

Rise took a new approach to the franchise, as it not only aimed to be a prequel to the original concept, but also utilized motion-capture technology and enlisted Andy Serkis to star as the chimpanzee Caesar. This approach, while somewhat risky, entirely revived interest in the concept and earned the follow-ups Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes. Kingdom jumps forward a few hundred years and, while it’s still early in its release, is off to a promising start both critically and financially.

Stay tuned for updates on the future of the Planet of the Apes franchise.

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