A war is coming and Caesar is looking for someone to join his ape army! Director Matt Reeves and actor Andy Serkis recently revealed a first glimpse of War For the Planetof the Apes in a TV spot promoting a contest in which the winner could appear as an ape in the 20th Century Fox sequel.
Although the third part opens only on 14 July, 2017, there’s not much to show, but we do get a glimpse behind the scenes, with human soldiers, gunfire and an explosion, and a little motion-capture work as well.
Serkis is joined in the sequel by Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, Judy Greer, Karin Konoval, Gabriel Chavarria, Amiah Miller and Terry Notary. Full details about the contest can be found at the appropriately named ApesContest.com.
Serkis obviously enjoys playing the simian because he is back doing what he does best and returns as the chimp leader of the rebellion against mankind in the new Planet of the Apes franchise. While in the first, Rise of the Planet of Apes (2011), Andy’s aped version, Ceaser plays mostly a silent role, the movie did see the chimp performing great acting using gestures, eye movements and well-mimicked actions. Serkis is convincingly incredible as he tells us exactly what’s going on in Ceaser’s mind throughout the movie. With WETA constantly perfecting their technology, the sequel Dawn of Planet of Apes (2014) has the intelligent chimp in an even better visually breath-taking role. Shot with 3D cameras mostly outdoor and ditching the green screen, the movie took motion capture live at the filming locations. Andy’s performance and the works from WETA were greatly applauded with nominations for various awards and this feature will certainly look at pushing the envelope further.