Director Wes Ball confirms Disney’s Planet of the Apes film is not a reboot

With Disney having acquired Fox last year there were big concerns about what Disney was intending to do with some of Fox’s big franchises and whether Disney will continue running with them – or just do their own thing and cancel or reboot them the Disney way. One of Fox’s biggest franchises over the past 10 years has been their Planet of the Apes trilogy.

It was a series of films that surprised audiences with not just some incredible visual effects and motion capture performances, but just how powerful and engaging the stories were and how much depth there was in lead character Caesar. That combination of powerful visuals and compelling storytelling led the films to both critical and box office success that kind of deserved more.

However, last year when news surfaced of a new Planet of the Apes movie been directed by Wes Ball, there were a lot of concerns raised that Disney would reboot the franchise all over again, even if the studio itself hadn’t necessary provided any news.  Thankfully, director Wes Ball himself sets the record straight via Twitter where he has confirmed that the Planet of the Apes film he is working on is a continuation of the story we got and not a new attempt at the franchise. While also taking a dig at journalists too:

So, thankfully Disney isn’t trying to be silly and much like everyone else who saw these movies knows that they are masterpieces and worthy of more. And while this new film may feature a slightly different creative team behind it, that the emphasis will still be on telling the same story with possibly some of the same characters, is reason enough to stay excited about the franchise. Let’s hope that Disney can build on the success of the first three movies and not change things too drastically.

Last Updated: February 19, 2020