Matt Reeves' Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes was one of 2014's more well received films, and that's a mantle it earned very easily. Not only did the continuation of 2011's Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes carry the torch that was lit by that film's bold vision, it also gave us something that resembled more of a character driven piece than a typical summer blockbuster. So it really shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Reeves has officially gone on record as saying that the Planet Of The Apes franchise will not be remaking the Charlton Heston-starring classic, if and when it catches up to it on the current timeline.
JoBlo got to talking with the director, as part of the press rounds he's been making for the home video release of Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes. As we've seen in past commentary that Reeves has offered on his take on the Planet Of The Apes saga, and as he reaffirms in the segment below, he's more interested in the journey than the destination.
The idea would never be to remake the ’68 film. There might be some of those events from another perspective, and obviously to also see them as events that grew out of everything that we’ve been watching from this new iteration. They wouldn’t be exactly the same either. So if, and when, we ever get there, which I think is an exciting notion, it would definitely not be a remake but it would be sort of a re-telling of those events from a new perspective. And the events themselves would probably be a bit different since they will have grown out of these films."
Keep in mind, Matt Reeves isn't above revisiting the eventual time period, and possibly some of the events of Planet Of The Apes. If anything, it's treated as an eventuality that he feels should be handled in the light of whatever developments come before it. However, Reeves isn't at all focused on an endgame that involves directly remaking the science fiction classic that started it all. There's plenty of story meat for him to cover with how society broke down and then rebuilt itself to the point that the original film depicted; and judging by his approach to Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, versus what the original treatment would have had in store, it's clear to see that leaping ahead to Dr. Zaius and friends isn't all that interesting to him.
Besides, Tim Burton's disastrous re-imagining of Planet Of The Apes is still very much fresh in the minds of the moviegoers who've seen it. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes only shook that stigma from itself because it took a more novel approach to the series, and did so from a new angle of storytelling. Keeping the focus on Caesar and continuing to tell stories that defy the original series' usage of human perspective storytelling is the exact strategy that this series needs to stay fresh. So while you might get to see the astronaut George Taylor again some day, don't expect him to be the one to root for.
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes is now available on Digital HD, Blu Ray, and DVD.
