We reported a few weeks ago that Scott Frank (The Lookout) was interested in rebooting Planet of the Apes, but Fox found the budget to be too big and the script too dark and he left the project. Vulture reports the project is now back on and high priority for Fox. They have hired Jamie Moss, who wrote Street Kings, to “rework Frank’s version”. They also brought back the original writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver who were behind The Relic and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle to “polish the dialogue.” According the source producer Scott Rudin left with Frank, but Fox is still interested in using Franks script with producer Peter Chernin, who used to be president of News Corp. Vulture highlights the plot below.
Frank’s Apes script, code-named Caesar, showed how genetic experiments on apes led to their evolutionary eclipse of humans. “Caesar” refers to the genetically altered leader of the simian rebellion, so dubbed because the ape was capable of grand strategic thinking on par with Julius Caesar (whose own surname means “hairy” in Latin). The “Caesar” code name also foreshadowed the script’s plot: Just as the actual Julius Caesar set Rome on the path to the Roman Empire, the experimental ape’s escape sets in motion his fellow hirsute hominids’ (wait for it … ) guerrilla war and subsequent dominance.
A director is rumored to be hired very soon. Check back as new updates come in regarding the project.
Do you want to see more Planet of the Apes? What do you think about the people involved?