First look at Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes as it begins production

The recent Planet of the Apes saga proved to be a notable franchise success story. Anchored by Andy Serkis' intuitive and sensitive motion capture performance as Caesar, the three movies, helmed variously by Rupert Wyatt and Matt Reeves, ably sketched out the backstory of the 1968 Charlton Heston classic.

However, the story isn't done yet. 20th Century Studios has unveiled its first look at the next chapter in the Apes series: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. IT actor Owen Teague takes the lead in a cast that also includes The Witcher's Freya Parr and The Orville's Peter Macon. 

The director is Wes Ball who helmed the YA series The Maze Runner for the big screen. Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, veterans of the earlier trilogy, and Patrick Aison, will pen the script. Joe Hartwick Jr. Jaffa, Silver and Jason Reed are producing, with Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping executive producing.

With the film about to enter production, check out the screenshot of Teague's (currently unnamed) character and his pet hawk. (We imagine no one did the motion capture for that role.)

At the climax of 2017's War for the Planet of the Apes, the story that had been initiated with Rise of the Planet of the Apes and further developed with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes reached its moving conclusion. In his dying moments, intelligent simian Caesar managed to lead the remnants of his species to safety, initiating the outline of the ape vs human society that would eventually take shape in the original Planet of the Apes film.

Naturally, there are lots of questions about Kingdom's narrative. There are still thousands of years to be covered until we reach the apocalyptic landscape that was depicted in the original Apes movie. Will Kingdom initiate a new trilogy of movies? Given the lucrative potential of the recent reboots, and the Apes franchise as a whole, it's highly likely.

“Planet of the Apes is one of the most iconic and storied science fiction franchises in film history, as well as being an indelible part of our studio’s legacy,” Steve Asbell, president of 20th Century Studios, said in a statement. “With Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes we are privileged to continue the series’ tradition of imaginative, thought-provoking cinema, and can’t wait to share Wes’ extraordinary vision for this new chapter with audiences in 2024.”

As mentioned there, we've got two years until the next Apes chapter unfolds. What do you make of the news? Let us know @Cineworld.