Director Matt Reeves Signs On For ‘Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes’

Director Matt Reeves, the man responsible for helming Cloverfield and the American remake of Let the Right One In, has been tapped to tackle the upcoming Dawn of the Planet of the Apes flick for 20th Century Fox. According to Geek Tyrant, Reeves will effectively replace Rupert Wyatt, who famously left the project last month.

Reports indicate that Matt Reeves managed to beat out a number of extremely talented individuals, including The Disappearance Of Alice Creed director J. Blakeson, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Looper mastermind Rian Johnson, and Pan’s Labyrinth filmmaker Guillermo del Toro.

Matt Reeves’ Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, a sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes, will be penned by scribes Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. The pair also worked on the previous installment of the rebooted series. The next entry will reportedly explore how the rapidly-spreading virus has effected the entire world. The events of this film will reportedly lead up to the classic Charlton Heston picture Planet of the Apes.

According to Slash Film, Andy Serkis, who will reprise his role as Gollum in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit, is on-deck to return as Ceasar in the proposed sequel. However, Rise of the Planet of the Apes star James Franco has not been confirmed to return as of this writing. As with most news in Hollywood, this could change at the drop of a hat.

In addition to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Matt Reeves is also rumored to direct the long-awaited follow-up to his 2008 science fiction flick Cloverfield. Presently, it’s unsure where this project will fall in the grand scheme of things now that Reeves is on-board to direct the Rise of the Planet of the Apes sequel.

Are you a fan of the Planet of the Apes film franchise? Do you think Matt Reeves is the right choice to direct Dawn of the Planet of the Apes?