Not Again, You Damn Dirty Apes!
Filed under: Action, Classics, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, RumorMonger, Fandom, Scripts, 20th Century Fox, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels
In a world where every franchise is getting "rebooted," it should come as no surprise that someone in Hollywood wants to revisit Planet of the Apes. After all, Tim Burton's attempt was unsatisfying, and what do you do when your remake failed to launch a franchise? Devin Faraci of CHUD has the scoop on a Apes script that has been kicking around Fox for the last year. It's not a sequel of Burton's film, and it's not another remake of the original Planet, but it is a remake all the same: Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. It will, thankfully, have a smoother title: Genesis: Apes.
For those unfamiliar with the original, Conquest is a prequel. It's the story of Caesar,
the first talking ape, who led the revolution that caused apes to be the masters of human savages. And honestly, the new script is pretty intriguing and edgy. Set in modern day, Caesar is a genetic experiment gone cuddly. When the God-playing scientist discovers his intelligence and talent for speech, he takes him home to his wife, and they raise him as their child. Things go well until Caesar sees his mother attacked, and when he kills her attacker, he lands at an Ape Conservatory, where he's tortured by humans and rejected by his own kind. But he slowly wins over the latter, and you can guess where it goes from there. It's worth noting that Faraci really digs the politically-charged script, and argues that it's a perfect way to restart the series.
Frankly, Apes is a series I never warmed to -- and there's too many sci-fi stories I'd love to see on the big screen before bringing back an old one. But I don't want to be answering for the rest of you. Do you want an Apes origin story, and a whole new franchise?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-03-2008 @ 2:23PM
Pudge said...
Personally? I'd like to see Burton do a sequel, if only to see the scene where one of the characters have to explain what in gods name happened.
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11-03-2008 @ 2:49PM
Mike said...
This kind of sounds like part of the story from Michael Chricton's Next although I'm not sure if thats a good thing or not.
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11-03-2008 @ 3:08PM
Ethan Rom said...
As long as Marky Mark gets nowhere near this movie, I'm for it. I loved the original as a kid. I still have it on an old projector reel somewhere.
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11-03-2008 @ 3:30PM
Clark Parker said...
I sort of enjoyed Burton's film... The worst this about it I think was scope. He shot it far too tight and it just didn't have any scope. It didn't feel like a Planet of the Apes, so much as a Village of the apes. That said, the suits were pretty amazing and the story is decent.
However, I just don't know about this one... It sounds pretty far off the path, which is good, I suppose... But it also sounds like it could end up like... Well like a bad cross between Congo and POTA.
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11-03-2008 @ 5:06PM
R-Bro said...
Geez, what is it with Hollywood and monkey movies?! I have no interest in ape planets or king kongs or chimp presidents.
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11-06-2008 @ 8:06PM
Huémac said...
Not even this one:
http://movies.ign.com/articles/897/897441p1.html
11-04-2008 @ 1:10PM
Eli said...
Is Godzilla going to get a reboot any time soon?
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11-03-2008 @ 9:49PM
james said...
I would say never to another Ape's movie but the new script sounds interesting for sure... I would see it.
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11-05-2008 @ 1:39AM
SlimPickins said...
That actually sounds like it would be pretty cool.
I loved the original Planet of the Apes. Every one of the original sequels was TERRIBLE. TIm Burton's reboot wasn't as good as the first film, but it was infinitely better than any of the sequels. Everyone seems to lose sight of that.
A remake of the prequel is an awesome idea.
Just as long as Michael Clarke Duncan isn't in it. I'm sick and tired of hearing that guy's voice. He's been cast as the same deep voiced character in too many movies too many times.
And Planet of the Apes was a book before anything else. So in my opinion, as good as the original was, if someone decided to make it again, it wouldn't be a remake. It would be another interpretation of the book. That is, of course, assuming they actually read the book.
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11-09-2008 @ 12:33AM
Melissa said...
I actually enjoyed most of the Apes original films, only because I was introduced to them as a kid, and really, these films are easily loved by children. As I've grown older there is no doubt that the original Planet movie is the greatest apes movie EVER. In fact, I really think it's one of the greatest movies ever made.
What I'd like to see, is an actual Apes movie based on the book. I know they tried for it on the original film, but it got too expensive and they took it down a notch. Burton... no idea where he even GOT his idea, but oh dear. He really missed the ball with that movie. (The ape actors however, wow. They did a GREAT job. I mean, they literally acted like apes.) Anyway, the book is so interesting, and has a great twist at the end that people would not expect.
I would for sure see this, it sounds very interesting. I'll see any Apes film... I've just got a love for them. You never know... it could happen one day... : )
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