Disney To Continue Planet Of The Apes Movie Franchise

Any such sequel would exist within the same universe as the recent Apes trilogy.

by Andrew Pollard
War For The Planet Of The Apes Cornelius
20th Century Fox

With Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, many have been wondering what that will mean for the future of certain fan-favourite Fox properties.

One particular property that has particular interest in it, of course, is the iconic Planet of the Apes franchise. And on that front, it’s good news for Apes fans.

Previously, there was concern that the stunning recent Planet of the Apes trilogy would be completely scrapped or the property even rebooted once more. Now, Disney CEO Bob Iger has moved to play down those fears.

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As reported by Variety, Iger confirmed to investors that Planet of the Apes will not be getting remade, rejigged or axed. Instead, Disney will leave all things Apes as they are for now, with the House of Mouse to then eye new Planet of the Apes movies that exist within the world that was first fleshed-out in 2011 with Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

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With 2014’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes, somehow the property managed to pull off the unthinkable and get better with each passing film. That 2011 offering was fantastic enough, but that was eclipsed by Dawn, which was then subsequently surpassed in quality by the jaw-dropping War.

Any time frame on a new Disney-developed Planet of the Apes suggests that a fourth movie in the saga wouldn’t begin serious production until a year or two down the line – which could be good news for Matt Reeves.

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Reeves helmed Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes, and has previously talked up how he’s got story ideas for a fourth film in the revamped Apes series. Right now though, the director is busy with The Batman, so a start date of a couple of years in the future would be perfect timing for Reeves.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.