{"id":1922884,"date":"2026-05-06T21:00:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T18:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1922884"},"modified":"2026-05-06T21:00:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T18:00:54","slug":"fantastic-four-director-matt-shakman-will-helm-next-planet-of-the-apes-movie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1922884","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Fantastic Four\u2019 Director Matt Shakman Will Helm Next \u2018Planet of the Apes\u2019 Movie"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/noa-kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-1200×675.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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A new entry in the long-running Planet of the Apes<\/em> franchise is officially in the works\u2014but before you get too excited, it sounds like we may not be getting any resolution on the cliffhanger that capped 2024\u2019s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes<\/em>. Still, it could be worse: the director of the new film will be Matt Shakman, who proved his blockbuster bona fides with Marvel\u2019s Fantastic Four: First Steps<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The decision not to pick up after Kingdom <\/em>is a curious one, since Kingdom<\/em> writer Josh Friedman (who also co-wrote Fantastic Four<\/em>) is returning to script the new film. However, as Deadline reports, \u201cPlot details are being kept under wraps other than the film making a return to the planet where Apes are the superior species ruling all. While not confirmed, sources tell Deadline this will not be a continuation of the most recent pic\u00a0Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,\u00a0<\/i>but a new original story that Shakman and Friedman are developing.\u201d We don\u2019t know if that means it takes place within the Kingdom<\/em> timeline or establishes a separate one.<\/p>\n

For those keeping score, this will be the 11th Planet of the Apes<\/em> movie in total. That said, there\u2019s a significant split in plot and special effects between the five increasingly kooky original films (starting with 1968\u2019s Charlton Heston-starring original and wrapping with 1973\u2019s Battle for the Planet of the Apes<\/em>) and the rebooted chronology that began in 2011 with the more serious-minded Rise of the Planet of the Apes<\/em>, featuring Andy Serkis\u2019 highly acclaimed motion-capture performance as the leading ape character, Caesar. (Tim Burton\u2019s 2001 Planet of the Apes<\/em> movie also exists in a weird vortex all its own.)<\/p>\n

With that tidbit about the new film\u2019s fresh approach to story (but not re-telling the \u201crise\u201d part of ape domination), it\u2019s anyone\u2019s guess what this return to the Planet of the Apes<\/em> might look like and what new characters we might meet. Prospective stars can start planning their \u201cape school\u201d training now, at the very least.<\/p>\n

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Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what\u2019s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

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A new entry in the long-running Planet of the Apes<\/em> franchise is officially in the works\u2014but before you get too excited, it sounds like we may not be getting any resolution on the cliffhanger that capped 2024\u2019s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes<\/em>. Still, it could be worse: the director of the new film will be Matt Shakman, who proved his blockbuster bona fides with Marvel\u2019s Fantastic Four: First Steps<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The decision not to pick up after Kingdom <\/em>is a curious one, since Kingdom<\/em> writer Josh Friedman (who also co-wrote Fantastic Four<\/em>) is returning to script the new film. However, as Deadline reports, \u201cPlot details are being kept under wraps other than the film making a return to the planet where Apes are the superior species ruling all. While not confirmed, sources tell Deadline this will not be a continuation of the most recent pic\u00a0Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,\u00a0<\/i>but a new original story that Shakman and Friedman are developing.\u201d We don\u2019t know if that means it takes place within the Kingdom<\/em> timeline or establishes a separate one.<\/p>\n

For those keeping score, this will be the 11th Planet of the Apes<\/em> movie in total. That said, there\u2019s a significant split in plot and special effects between the five increasingly kooky original films (starting with 1968\u2019s Charlton Heston-starring original and wrapping with 1973\u2019s Battle for the Planet of the Apes<\/em>) and the rebooted chronology that began in 2011 with the more serious-minded Rise of the Planet of the Apes<\/em>, featuring Andy Serkis\u2019 highly acclaimed motion-capture performance as the leading ape character, Caesar. (Tim Burton\u2019s 2001 Planet of the Apes<\/em> movie also exists in a weird vortex all its own.)<\/p>\n

With that tidbit about the new film\u2019s fresh approach to story (but not re-telling the \u201crise\u201d part of ape domination), it\u2019s anyone\u2019s guess what this return to the Planet of the Apes<\/em> might look like and what new characters we might meet. Prospective stars can start planning their \u201cape school\u201d training now, at the very least.<\/p>\n

\n

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what\u2019s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/noa-kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-1200×675.jpg”] A new entry in the long-running Planet of the Apes franchise is officially in the works\u2014but before you get too excited, it sounds like we may not be getting any resolution on the cliffhanger that capped 2024\u2019s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Still, it could be worse: the director of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,53],"class_list":["post-1922884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-gizmodo-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1922884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1922884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1922884\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1922884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1922884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1922884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}