Having found one human to pit against the ever-evolving ape threat in Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, sequel director Matt Reeves is dipping into his back catalogue for another. He’s just cast Let Me In's Kodi Smit-McPhee in the film.

We don’t yet know what role he’ll be playing – possibly alongside Jason Clarke, who joined the film a few days ago – though there’s a chance he could be his son.

With a script by Mark Bomback, the Rise follow-up is set 15 years later and finds humanity at a low ebb. Hit hard by the combined forces of the rampaging smart apes and a virus that has ravaged the population, mankind is struggling to survive with Clarke one of a group of people trying to stay safe in San Francisco.

Yet all is not necessarily perfect within the ranks of the simians either, with chimp Guevara Caesar (Andy Serkis) facing dissention within his own ranks.

Shooting on Dawn is set for this spring, with a release date already pencilled in on May 23 next year.

Smit-McPhee was last heard in ParaNorman and has a busy schedule ahead. He’s already worked on The Congress, the latest Romeo & Juliet and A Birder’s Guide To Everything. Currently he’s shooting The Young Ones (no, not an adaptation of the sitcom, it’s Jake Paltrow’s new drama featuring Nicholas Hoult, Elle Fanning and Michael Shannon.)