Production on the upcoming simian sequel, War for the Planet of the Apes, kicked off this weekend, with Matt Reeves back in the director's chair to continue the rebooted story. To commemorate the start of shooting, Reeves dropped the first set photo via Twitter, teasing a classic moment from the franchise:
#It has begun. @ApesMovies pic.twitter.com/6AZVzWfJXWOctober 17, 2015
Fans of the original film saga will immediately recognise the homage. The 1968 version, which starred Charlton Heston, ended on a beach landscape showing the remains of the Statue of Liberty poking out from the sand. It's one of cinema's most iconic finales, here suggesting we might see a link between the two movies. However, all that's known on the plot can be deduced from the title: it'll most likely involve a war, and we're guessing it's between apes and humans. Probably.
Of the human cast, Woody Harrelson has recently come aboard as a new colonel and Gabriel Chavarria will be tackling a role similar to James Franco's from the 2011 flick. It sounds as if Jason Clarke's character from 2014's Dawn won't be back, though his co-stars Andy Serkis and Judy Greer are set to reprise their mo-capped roles as Caesar and Cornelia. Steve Zahn dons the mo-cap suit for the first time as a new member of the ape crew.
War for the Planet of the Apes opens in theaters on July 14, 2017.
