_In September's **Empire_things get simian-flavoured* *with an early look at Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, the prequelsequel that follows up Rupert Wyatt's 2011 hit. This time it's Matt Reeves at the helm, with Andy Serkis back to reprise his turn as Caesar. We spoke to both on the film's Louisiana set.
Picking up a decade after Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes’ ‘simian flu’ wiped out most of humanity (during the end credits, no less), **Dawn **continues that dark journey towards the “upside-down civilisation” that so shocked Chuck Heston in the 1968 original. Director Rupert Wyatt departed the project in pre-production, but his replacement, Matt Reeves, has Statue Of Liberty-trashing form with Cloverfield.
And mo-cap maestro Andy Serkis continues his chimp Che Guevara’s journey as ape leader Caesar has to contend with the repercussions of an encounter with human survivors led by Jason Clarke’s Malcolm (alongside a pre-CG’d Serkis, left). “This is very exciting,” Serkis promises Empire. “Rise was such a domestic movie, and this is so epic. It’s vast.”
**Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes **is out on July 17, 2014.