‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ synopsis released as ‘start of production’ officially begins

With some early filming occurred in Vancouver and New Orleans, 20th Century Fox has unveiled a “start of production” press release for the sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.  Director Matt Reeves (Let Me In) takes over as director, and the studio announced the film would take place 15 years after the first film and find Caesar (Andy Serkis) attempting to assert his dominance over the apes while a small human colony struggles to survive in San Francisco, an official synopsis has now been released:

“A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier.  They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth¹s dominant species.”

The film also stars Toby Kebbell (Wrath of the Titans) and Enrique Murciano (Traffic) have been added to a cast led by Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, Gary Oldman, Kodi Smit-MCPhee, Kirk Acevedo, and Judy Greer.

UPDATE: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes now opens on July 18, 2014.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes opens on May 23, 2014.

Here’s the press release:

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

BEGINS PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY 

Andy Serkis Reprises His Celebrated Role Of Heroic Ape Caesar 

Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Toby Kebbell, Keri Russell,

Kodi Smit-Mcphee Also Star 

Matt Reeves Directs Newest Chapter Of Beloved Franchise

Now Filming On Location In New Orleans and Vancouver, BC

NEW ORLEANS, LA – May 6, 2013 – Twentieth Century Fox announced that principal photography is underway on Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.  A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier.  They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth’s dominant species.

Andy Serkis, celebrated for his performance in the last film, reprises his role as Caesar. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes also stars Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty, Public Enemies, The Great Gatsby), Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight Rises, The Harry Potter film series), Keri Russell (The Americans, Mission Impossible III), Toby Kebbell (The Prince of Persia, Wrath of the Titans, Rock N Rolla), Kodi Smit-McPhee (Let Me In, ParaNorman), Enrique Murciano (Traffic, Black Hawk Down), Kirk Acevedo (The Thin Red Line) and Judy Greer (The Descendants, Three Kings, 13 Going on 30).

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In). The producers are Peter Chernin, Dylan Clark (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Oblivion), Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (Rise of the Planet of the Apes).  Tom Hammel (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) is executive producing.

Oscar®-winning visual effects house WETA Digital – employing a new generation of the cutting edge performance capture technologies developed for Rise of the Apes and Avatar – will again render photo-realistic, emotionally-engaging apes. The film’s key behind-the-scenes team includes director of photography Michael Seresin, production designer James Chinland, and VFX Supervisors Joe Letteri and Dan Lemmon, VFX producers Ryan Stafford, editor Bill Hoy and Stan Salfas, and costume designer Melissa Brunning.

Twentieth Century Fox will release Dawn of the Planet of the Apes worldwide on Memorial Day weekend, May 23, 2014.  Rise of the Planet of the Apes opened theatrically during the summer of 2011, grossed nearly half a billion dollars worldwide.