Matt Reeves shares War for the Planet of the Apes set pic as filming begins

October 19th 2015, 10:23am

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Over the weekend director Matt Reeves announced that filming has kicked off for WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES on his Twitter, and he also shared a photo from the Vancouver set. It's hard to tell who is on the horse in the image, but there's a very good chance it's Andy Serkis, who will be back as the Moses-like primate leader Caesar. The third installment in the rebooted Planet of the Apes series also stars Woody Harrelson (as one of the film's villains, a human character known only as the Colonel), Steve Zahn, and East Los High and Aquarius actor Gabriel Chavarria.

#It has begun. @ApesMovies pic.twitter.com/6AZVzWfJXW

— Matt Reeves (@mattreevesLA) October 17, 2015

WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES story details have been kept under wraps, but last year screenwriter Mark Bomback had this to say about where the franchise might be heading towards.

The challenge that we’re up against – and I think we’ll be even more aware of it in the next film – is how we circle back to the original franchise’s fundamental premise that apes have taken over the earth and humans are their prey. How do you get back to the 1968 universe that started it all?

Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, who wrote Rise of the Planet of the Apes, did something really brilliant where they launch the Icarus [the spaceship in the original 1968 film]. I remember when I read the draft I said, “What a great idea.” At least the seeds have been planted in our universe to get back to there.

WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES will be in theaters on July 14, 2017.