Planet Of The Apes Series May Continue Beyond Planned Trilogy, Says Andy Serkis

Aside from the release date for the studio’s planned Planet of the Apes threequel — expected to bow on July 29, 2016 — there’s not a lot we know about the future of 20th Century Fox’s rebooted franchise. Granted, the company has outlined the current series as a trilogy, with Matt Reeves returning to helm the as-yet-untitled third movie, but in an interview with MTV, Andy Serkis skated around 20th Century Fox’s vision for the current series, hinting that there may be a fourth and even fifth film released further down the line.

“It’s very, very early in where we choose to drop anchor in the next film. It could be five years after the event, it could be the night after the events of where we left ‘Dawn,’ so it’s very difficult to know where the story is going right at this moment because it’s being written as we speak. I know that part of the desire for Matt [Reeves] to do this next movie is about continuing the enjoyment of seeing these apes evolve.

“So I don’t think we’re going to see a situation where we’re jumping….It might be three films, It could be four. It could be five. Who knows? But the journey will continue. It might not necessarily be summarized or completely fulfilled in this next one. The point being, eventually we know that we’re going to end up back at ‘The Planet of the Apes,’ but whether it’s this film or not, I don’t know.”

Huge, sprawling cinematic universes are all the rage in Hollywood these days, what with Marvel, DC and even Universal getting in on the trend. So, with this in mind, could 20th Century Fox expand the horizons of the Planet of the Apes series beyond the current trilogy? After all, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes emulated the success of its predecessor with style, after the well-received sequel pulled in $708 million at the box office — a franchise high for the IP. In a nutshell, don’t be too surprised if Serkis’ off-hand speculation comes to pass.

The as-yet-untitled third entry into the studio’s Planet of the Apes series is due to arrive in theaters on July 29, 2016. Only then will we know more about the future of the franchise.