After Tim Burton’s disastrous 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes, nobody had particularly high hopes for 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I mean, super-intelligent apes taking over San Francisco sounds a bit ridiculous, right? But then the film landed and blew away everyone who saw it. At the core of the movie was Andy Serkis’ astonishing motion-captured performance as Caesar, a chimpanzee struggling with scientifically-granted smarts and beginning an ape revolution.
After that, things really took off, with Matt Reeves’ Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes making new technological strides forward as well as telling a powerful science-fiction story. The trilogy is very highly regarded and there were expectations that we’d continue to follow this story of the apes conquering Earth. As recently as last August, in fact, we heard that future installments would be set in the same universe as the trilogy and the rumors of a new film in development by director Wes Ball had fans hopeful of an official announcement soon.
So, it came as something of a shock when recent reports surfaced that indicate that the now Disney-owned franchise is going to hit the reboot button again. And here’s how it’s going down on social media…
I really like Wes Ball, but do they really need a gritty, hyper-realistic, reboot PLANET OF THE APES after the gritty, hyper-realistic, reboot of PLANET OF THE APES…?
Just…make more PLANET OF THE APES. Preferably closer to the premise of the original instead of more origin. https://t.co/KXQ5wBEnAh
— Derek Halliday (@DTHalliday) February 17, 2020
IM SO FUCKING ANGRY. THESE MOVIES ARE SOME OF THE BEST PREQUELS EVER MADE AND DISNEY WANTS TO REBOOT??? HOW ABOUT NO, YOU NASTY RATS. KEEP YOUR DISGUSTING PAWS OFF OF PLANET OF THE APES. WHERE IS ANDY SERKIS WHEN YOU NEED HIM. pic.twitter.com/Iht8ogMt4w
— sim ahsoka™ (@MlSTERBILBO) February 17, 2020
There are NINE “Planet of the Apes” movies. DO WE REALLY NEED TO REBOOT THE SERIES AGAIN?! https://t.co/LfXnx2XGzh
— New Year, Gayer Nic (@CloneNic) February 17, 2020
The last trilogy was very good… my favorite being dawn of the planet of the apes… Doesn't need a reboot but Hollywood will continue to suck the life out of some things till it's completely dry and void
— TheQuantumSamurai (@FearlessSamuri) February 17, 2020
This was inevitable, but they should continue the story of the recent movies rather than reboot all together. They can pretty much just remake the first Planet of the Apes movie within rebooted series ?
— Jamin ? (@GhostShady_) February 17, 2020
It’s dumb unless they’re following Cornelius which would make it a remake of the original Planet of the Apes but I’m not here for that either. I’m going to say it’s probably the best reboot and trilogy. Leave it alone.
— Melanin Monreaux (@tater_tati) February 17, 2020
I loved the last trilogy, but I don’t want more Planet of the Apes movies. We don’t need another reboot Hollywood.
— Blake (@FresnoBlake) February 17, 2020
@20thcentury It is says on facebook that there is plans to reboot Planet Of The Apes (Which as I recall is a reboot)….. A reboot of a reboot?…. Why?….
— ThE_NaMeLesS (@ThENaMe73679102) February 17, 2020
@20thcentury please do not reboot planet of the apes. How come studios think reboots are the answer the past 3 movies were awesome and you should continue it from where it left off..
— John Castro (@JohnCas49808891) February 16, 2020
Wtf why!??? Just continue on with the story.
— Raul Juarez (@hiimraul33) February 16, 2020
While this may be a reboot, I’m thinking that the new film won’t retread the origins story we saw in the recent trilogy. Perhaps we could go back for another stab at a futuristic Earth fully controlled by apes? In that way, while the film might not be a literal sequel to War, it could be set so far in the future that it wouldn’t contradict anything in these movies.
If they did that, I’d hope they have a more original take on the franchise than simply remaking the 1968 pic complete with its now cliche time travel twist. But at this point, we’ll just have to sit tight and wait and see what Disney plans to do with Planet of the Apes.
