I was scrolling Deadline at 2 a.m. and felt the story land like a hard decision at a casting table. The next Planet of the Apes movie has a new director: Matt Shakman. You should pay attention—this is the kind of creative hand that can steer a franchise into unexpected territory.
The makeup tent still smells of adhesive. Why Matt Shakman’s hire matters right now
I watched Shakman take a TV pilot and turn it into a franchise-level trust exercise; you can see the same careful, actor-first instinct in his work on Marvel’s Fantastic Four: First Steps. You know him from episodic gold and a studio playground where timing and tone matter as much as spectacle. That background matters because Planet of the Apes is a franchise that depends on performance-driven effects and managerial finesse—think careful choreography of mocap, stunt work, and big-studio politics.
Shakman arrives with a different set of credentials than the filmmakers who rebooted the series in 2011. He’s proven he can shepherd a tentpole with scope and character balance, and that makes him a logical next step for a franchise that wants scale without losing soul.
The newsstand staff are still muttering about timelines. What Josh Friedman’s return signals
On the Deadline page I read that Josh Friedman, who co-wrote 2024’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, is back on script duty. That fact is both comforting and confounding: comfortable because a writer familiar with the recent rebooted arc is in the room; confounding because Deadline’s sources say the new film likely won’t continue Kingdom‘s cliffhanger.
Friedman’s return suggests the new film will speak the franchise’s language—political allegory, character-driven stakes, and the ape-human power dynamic—while trying a fresh plot approach. The storytelling challenge is to be familiar without repeating the same story beats; it’s a careful reconfiguration, like a chessboard reset where past pieces remain but new openings appear.
Who is directing the next Planet of the Apes movie?
It’s Matt Shakman, the director who moved from acclaimed TV work into the Marvel sphere with Fantastic Four: First Steps. Studios trust him to blend character work with blockbuster scale, and that reputation is exactly why he’s been tapped for this iteration.
The fan forum threads still hum at midnight. How this fits into franchise history
People still quote Charlton Heston lines and argue about Tim Burton’s 2001 detour, and that chatter matters because it reveals what fans expect from any new entry. This will be the 11th official theatrical entry in the franchise, and there are two visible DNA strands: the late‑60s/early‑70s originals (a weird, escalating roller coaster) and the modern reboot that began with Rise of the Planet of the Apes—where Andy Serkis’ Caesar became the emotional anchor.
The Deadline report makes clear the new film will “return to the planet where Apes are the superior species ruling all,” but not necessarily continue Kingdom. That opens possibilities: a separate timeline, an untold corner of the same timeline, or a standalone tale that riffs on the franchise’s themes. Either way, the studio looks like it’s choosing tonal variety over literal continuation—a move that will inflame some fans and thrill others like a tide pulling at expectations.
Will the new film continue Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes?
Sources tell Deadline it is likely an original story rather than a direct continuation of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. That doesn’t rule out shared characters or connective tissue, but you shouldn’t expect an immediate resolution to the 2024 film’s cliffhanger—at least not in the obvious way.
Is Josh Friedman writing the next Planet of the Apes?
Yes. Friedman is listed as a returning writer, and he also co-wrote Marvel’s Fantastic Four with Shakman, which explains the creative reunion. His involvement keeps a throughline of tone from the recent rebooted era even if the plot takes a different path.
The casting office still posts headshots online. What actors should prepare for
I’ve seen actors joke about “ape school” training; it’s not a joke. If the film leans into the franchise’s mocap legacy, performers will need to marry physical nuance with voice work and motion-capture stamina. Expect casting directors and VFX houses—likely teams with credits at Disney, Marvel, and 20th Century—to be picking performers who can deliver both presence and digital translation.
If you’re scanning trades or checking IMDb pages, watch for names that cross between dramatic prestige and physical work: that’s the sweet spot this franchise has favored since Caesar ascended.
Deadline and io9 have the initial reporting; Marvel and 20th Century Studios are the likely corporate players moving pieces behind the scenes, and names like Andy Serkis, Josh Friedman, and Tim Burton remain reference points in every conversation about tone and legacy. You and I will be parsing each casting rumor and set photo for clues—because the stakes are partly narrative and partly reputational for the studio and creatives involved.
So tell me: will you want closure for Kingdom or are you ready for a fresh take that rewrites the rules of ape politics?