The casting process for the upcoming Dawn of the Planet of the Apes has been moving into full gear as of recently. Andy Serkis, of course, has long been attached to return as brilliant chimpanzee mastermind Caesar, but in the last week we've learned that both Jason Clarke and Kodi Smit-McPhee has been attached as well. Today we learn that yet another esteemed actor has joined the line-up, and it's a name that will get franchise fans excited.
Gary Oldman, last scene pairing up with Batman for the last time in The Dark Knight Rises, has signed on for a part in the Matt Reeves-directed sequel, according to Coming Soon. The site notes that the sequel is set 15 years after the end of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and will be set in a world that has seen almost all of humanity swept away. The story will largely center around a group of San Francisco-based scientists trying to develop a way to stop the uprising. Oldman will be playing the leader of a colony built by survivors. The other side of the plot will find Caesar trying "to maintain order and power within his new civilization."
Oldman has kept busy of late, signing on for a key role in the upcoming remake of RoboCop, and set to next appear alongside Harrison Ford and Liam Hemsworth in the thriller Paranoia. There have also been continued talks about a Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy sequel that would see Oldman return as aging spy George Smiley.
