Disney is moving toward a full reboot of the Planet of the Apes franchise, stepping away from the storyline that began with Caesar in 2011 and continued most recently in 2024's Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, according to a report by Screen Rant. Director Matt Shakman and writer Josh Friedman are reportedly developing a new original story for the next film.
The decision appears tied to Kingdom's performance at the box office. The 2024 film earned just under $400 million globally against a production budget of $160 million. While that was enough to turn a modest profit, it fell well short of the heights reached by Dawn of the Planet of the Apes in 2014, which earned over $700 million worldwide.
Kingdom had been intended as the first film in a new trilogy centered on a character named Noa and Freya Allan's human character, Mae. With the new direction apparently taking shape, that trilogy plan seems to have been set aside, at least for now.
The Planet of the Apes franchise has one of the more complicated histories in Hollywood. The original film starring Charlton Heston arrived in 1968 and spawned four direct sequels through 1973. Tim Burton remade the original in 2001 in a film that launched its own short-lived timeline. Fox rebooted the series again in 2011 with Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which introduced Caesar, the genetically enhanced chimpanzee whose story continued through Dawn and War for the Planet of the Apes. Kingdom followed, set generations after Caesar's era, but still within that same continuity.
Whether the next film will establish an entirely new timeline or simply shift focus to new characters within an existing one remains unclear. Screen Rant noted that Shakman and Friedman's involvement in writing a new original story is a strong signal the film will not serve as a direct sequel to Kingdom, but stops short of being an outright confirmation of a full timeline reset.
The franchise carries significant name recognition, which is likely why Disney is pressing forward despite Kingdom's middling returns. No release date or casting has been announced for the new project.
