A movie executive has suggested the new Planet of the Apes film isn’t a hard reboot after all, following news it will not be a “continuation” of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
This week, it was recently reported that the next Planet of the Apes movie will be helmed by The Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman. According to Deadline, Shakman is developing an original story with Josh Friedman, the writer of the previous film, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. However, Deadline said that its sources indicated this new film wouldn’t be a “continuation” of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, leaving fans to believe they will get yet another reboot of the Apes films.
Some were annoyed given how many Apes reboots we already have and how it may be hard to re-invest in another movie if the studio is willing to abandon ship on stories so quickly. But 20th Century Studios boss Steve Asbell addressed the matter on social media with a somewhat cryptic statement: “I guess it depends on how you define ‘continuation?'”
Asbell didn’t elaborate on what this means, but it certainly seems to imply that there is some kind of link or connection to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Perhaps it will follow a different clan of apes in the same era or feature a side character from the previous film. As one person joked, “Apes in space?”
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was designed to launch a new trilogy of movies and Asbell noted shortly after its release that the studio was moving forward on a sequel. However, director Wes Bell went on to direct The Legend of Zelda film, which may explain the lack of development of a proper sequel. It’s unclear if Bell will return to continue his Apes trilogy after the Zelda movie, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ended on a pretty big cliffhanger. The character of Mae delivered a harddrive to a secret base of humans, which allowed them to communicate with other humans using satellites. It seemed to suggest that the humans will attempt to rally together and push back against the apes, but it remains to be seen if that will get resolved.
Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN’s news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.
