Since being acquired by Disney in 2019, 20th Century Fox's original film and television IP has undergone a new integration.
First, the "X-Men" series returned to the Marvel family, and then "Avatar: The Way of Water", which had been absent from the big screen for 13 years, also successfully met the audience.
Now, another classic sci-fi IP held by Fox Pictures has also been prioritized for the development of a new chapter. It is the latest installment in the Rise of the Planet of the Apes series, Rise of the Planet of the Apes 4: New World.
Not long ago, this new work ** had its first trailer and is scheduled to be released in North America in May 2024.
As the fourth installment of the 2011 reboot of the Planet of the Apes series, Rise of the Planet of the Apes 4 is not a reset or remake, but a sequel in the true sense of the word.
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes 4" follows the world view of the previous work, and the story is set many years after the decisive battle between apes and humans.
Caesar, the former king, has long been a legend, and humans have degenerated into "vassals", apes ruled the earth, and began to form different tribes and civilizations.
At the end of Rise of the Planet of the Apes 3, Caesar's descendant Noah (also known as Cornelius) was originally just an ape hunter who longed for peace, and he did not exterminate humans, and even took in and protected some of the degraded humans, including a girl.
At the same time, a savage military empire quietly rose within the ape clan.
Their leader names himself "Julius Caesar" (Kevin Duran), enslaves and exploits other apes while searching for the mystery left by humans**.
And Noah, who yearns for freedom, and the tyrant "Julius Caesar" are bound to have a life-and-death confrontation.
It is reported that this "Rise of the Planet of the Apes 4" will be directed by Wes Ball, director of "Moving Labyrinth", starring newcomer actors Owen Tiger ("Return of the Joker") and Ciri's Freya Allen ("The Witcher").
Andy Serkis, who played the soul protagonist "Caesar" in the previous work, confirmed that he will not return, and the film will focus on the story of Caesar's descendants.
It is worth noting that the images of apes chasing and enslaving humans in the trailer, as well as various huge relics of human society, are highly similar to the 1968 original work of the series, "Planet of the Apes".
It can be said that "Rise of the Planet of the Apes 4", which is now opening a new chapter, is more like a comprehensive tribute to the "predecessors".
It has been 55 years since the release of Planet of the Apes, and the series of films and high-concept worldview derived from it have influenced countless science fiction works in later generations.
Before we get more material for Rise of the Planet of the Apes 4, it's worth revisiting and combing through the entire series.
In the 60s, when science fiction was in the ascendant, "Planet of the Apes" and the famous "2001: A Space Odyssey" were released around 1968.
It is directed by Franklin Schaffner, who previously directed "General Patton", and the film tells the story of a space expedition from the 20th century that strayed into a space-time orbit and accidentally landed on a strange planet in 3978 AD.
But this place has long been ruled by higher apes, and humans have become lower creatures. When they try to find the truth, they find out that this planet is the Earth after the nuclear war.
"Planet of the Apes" uses a philosophical post-apocalyptic style and a bold and avant-garde setting to outline an unbelievable future world, and the shocking reversal ending is the biggest satire of human greed and violence.
Later, the film was also included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, and along with classic works such as Forrest Gump and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, it represents an immortal masterpiece in the history of human art.
Planet of the Apes, the series quickly launched four sequels ("Lost Planet of the Apes", "Escape from the Planet of the Apes", "Planet of the Apes Conquest", and "Battle of the Planet of the Apes"), which lasted until 1973.
They show the conflict between humans and apes through different stages of conflict, peace, rebellion, and domination, presenting a bizarre and reflective worldview.
While continuing the first anti-war, anti-nuclear, and anti-violence, these sequels discuss common problems in human society such as race, class, and religion, and have social depth.
Especially in "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes" released in 1971, director Don Taylor used the setting of the series "Time and Space Travel" to throw out a philosophical question:
If we have the ability to change the future, do we have the right to use it?Are we going to kill Hitler in infancy?He was innocent then. Kill his mother?But he was in her womb. Kill his ancestors?We have no evidence that these apes are **.
It's a pity that the "Planet of the Apes" series, despite being highly praised by fans and critics and considered a classic in the history of science fiction films, has not been a great commercial success.
Beginning in the mid-1970s, the series was "interrupted" for more than 20 years, until 2001, when Tim Burton, a well-known Hollywood genius director, soft-rebooted "Battle of the Planet of the Apes" with respect for the series.
Compared with the 1968 version, the biggest attraction of the new version of "Battle of the Planet of the Apes" is that it integrates computer visual effects and adds large-scale war scenes.
It's a pity to abandon the deep thinking in the original work and completely adapt this IP into a commercial entertainment movie, but it loses the soul of the series.
Eventually, the film's word-of-mouth met with a waterloo, prompting Tim Burton to make a transition to some of the brighter works (such as "Big Fish" two years later).
After another decade of silence, the series returned to the big screen in 2011 with the launch of the first reboot, Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
The film was directed by Rupert Wayette (who later directed "Venom"), who was still a rookie director at the time, and starred Andy Serkis, the actor of "Gollum".
The film tells the story of a new drug developed by human scientists for Alzheimer's disease, which accidentally led to a large number of human deaths. But the apes, who are close relatives of humans, have become very intelligent because of the drug.
When the identities of the two are skewed, a revolution against humanity is imminent.
The reboot of Rise of the Planet of the Apes retains the classic setting and depth of thought of the series, while also showcasing amazing motion capture technology, creating another technological peak after The Lord of the Rings.
Under Andy Serkis's superb performance, Caesar, an ape protagonist full of feelings and humanity, is portrayed vividly, making countless audiences understand and identify with it.
And the global 4$8.1 billion (domestic 1..)7.9 billion) and IMDB7The score of 6 also announced that the series won a double harvest at the box office for the first time, and the IP was resurrected.
In "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" (Douban 82) After that, the reboot released two more sequels, namely 2014's Rise of the Planet of the Apes: Dawn of War and 2017's Rise of the Planet of the Apes 3: The Ultimate Battle.
These two films not only continue the wonderful plot and visual effects of their predecessors, but also deepen the portrayal of Caesar and other ape characters, showing their growth, struggles, sacrifices, and triumphs.
As a result, the rebooted trilogy has received high praise and is considered a model of no "bad ending" in remakes.
As a science fiction epic spanning more than half a century, the "Planet of the Apes" series of movies takes the war between humans and apes as the main line, and invests the creator's thoughts on technology, evolution, civilization, morality and other issues.
In "Rise of the Planet of the Apes 4" to be released next spring, what other classic plots and grand scenes will appear?Let's wait and see!