Because we absolutely needed one, 20th Century Fox is planning another Planet of the Apes film. The project, currently titled “Genesis: Apes,” has long been rumored to be in development. Apparently this film will be a remake of the fourth Apes film “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes.” But it had been over a month since we had heard anything about this film. Many people thought the project was dead. But during a break session in a marathon showing of the five original Apes films on the Fox Movie Channel, Fox’s production chief Tom Rathman spoke about the project. Rathman appeared on camera and had the following to say:
“We are very close at Fox on a new Apes script – this one a kind of prequel story before the first story, with a return to the social thematics that mark the first one, but with an entirely contemporary setting – Earth 2009.”
Oh Joy! I just cannot wait to see this! (Can you detect the sarcasm in my words?) Seriously people, why are the braniacs at 20th Century FOX destroying another classic property? Wasn’t the last Apes debacle enough? That film ended up as one of the only works of the great Tim Burton that I dislike. Please, at least tell me there will be no more Mark Whalberg. Normally, I am a fan of his. But he was terrible in that movie. Okay, I will say this. The film looked good (as is expected from a Tim Burton film) The costumes were well done. In fact, the costume design was nominated for several awards from several organizations, including BAFTA. All that said, why oh why are we getting another Apes film? Well, you can thank Blu ray sales for this one folks. The series was recently released on Blu ray and they have been selling incredibly well. And if there is a chance to squeeze some extra cash out of a property already owned by a studio, you know they will do it. As far as I’m concerned, you can file this one under “Who Cares?”