Fox releases Dawn of the Planet of the Apes director short list

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

An executive shakeup at Fox left Rupert Wyatt out of the director’s chair for DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, yet Fox is still fast tracking the film’s screenplay by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver As such, they have finally announced a short list of filmmakers to possibly replace Wyatt. Who made the studio’s cut?

It seems Matt Reeves (CLOVERFIELD) is currently at the top of the list, which also includes J. Blakeson (THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ALICE CREED), Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 WEEKS LATER), Jeff Nichols (MUD), Guillermo del Toro (PACIFIC RIM), Juan Antonio Bayona (THE IMPOSSIBLE), and Scott Cooper (CRAZY HEART).

That’s an eclectic set of directors. Is it just me, or do studios just decide to shoehorn del Toro’s name into all of these lists? He’s one of the most highly sought-after, notoriously fickle directors in Hollywood– let’s just throw him on the list for a PLANET OF THE APES sequel anyway. Hey, it couldn’t hurt, right? As for Matt Reeves who leads the list– that seems a bit more likely and a better fit. Though I’d love to see what Juan Carlos Fresnadillo could do with an APES movie. That guy directs action like nobody’s business. What say you, Schmoes? Who among them would be your favorite to helm DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES?