'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' to Start a Film Trilogy

Nobody really seemed all that sure about what to expect from "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." At this point the film has become a surprise hit with both audiences and critics. The reviews have praised the artistry and bravery of centering the film so much on a non-human, non-speaking character. Strong word of mouth amongst moviegoers has propelled the film to two weeks in a row as the number one film in the country -- an increasingly rare thing in these days of big opening weekends followed by steep attendance drops. With the film having already made back its $93 million budget, the attention is turning to a possible sequel. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the writing team of Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver talked about potential plans for multiple sequels.

The pair of writers behind the surprise hit stated that while they planned and wrote "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" as a standalone film they also were careful to lay groundwork for later entries if the film proved successful enough for a sequel. Silver stated specifically that they saw this film as the start of a trilogy. It should be pointed out that at this point a sequel has yet to be officially green lit, and the writers haven't actually been commissioned to pen a sequel yet. However, given the critical and financial success of the film, it's a fairly safe assumption that both of these things will happen in the not-so-distant future.

The big question is whether any potential sequels will draw from existing films in the "Apes" series or attempt to go in a whole new direction. Though Jaffa and Silver claimed that some of the similarities were accidental, the new film took a number of elements from "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes," the fourth film in the original series. From where the new film left off, the writers could go for a direct sequel and continue to focus on Caesar. However, they could also choose to leap further forward in time to a point when the apes have created a more fully formed society, as seen in the original series. Regardless of whether a sequel stays with Caesar or moves forward several generations, it is a good bet that Andy Serkis will be called up to provide motion capture work for the ape characters again.

Jaffa and Silver didn't give too many clear indications of where they would take the franchise, but they did point to one element of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" which may factor into the sequels. In the background of the main events of the film was a space mission called "Icarus." Jaffa joked about a connection to Taylor, the astronaut hero of the original "Planet of the Apes" who was famously played by Charleton Heston. While it seems doubtful that the connections will be as blatant as having it be literally the same character who goes off into space and returns to a world ruled by apes, the Icarus mission is clearly an element that can be expanded upon in later films.

Heading to the movies? Get an instant mobile coupon to use at select theaters for free popcorn!