Comic-Con: Matt Reeves talks Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Director Matt Reeves ('Cloverfield'), who took over directing duties from Rupert Wyatt for the second movie in the rebooted Apes franchise, 'Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes' appeared at Comic-Con to reveal some plot details of the forthcoming sequel and show a very rough, unfinished clip.

Said Reeves: "I was obsessed with 'Planet Of The Apes' as a child; I wanted to BE an ape. When I saw 'Rise', I felt that watching 'Rise' made me an ape, and that happened because of what Rupert and Andy Serkis and Weta did, which was to connect with what being an ape was, and I wanted to honour that and carry it forward. We wanted to do a Caesar-centric story that started in the world of the apes.

[Dawn of the Planet of the Apes director talks sequel plot]

"When that movie ended there was a viral apocalypse that was about to begin, and we all know that that story goes on a trajectory towards the original 'Planet Of The Apes.' So how could we tell that story and bring in humans worthy of it? That's what we've tried to do."

Reeves was keen to point out that “the movie is not a post apocalyptic movie. Caesar rules a primitive but majestic kingdom. [This film is about] the way they come into being. They are thinking and wondering… are the humans gone? Because it’s all from their point of you. Then [once the human survivors are discovered], it becomes a question of survival. Can they co-exist and can they survive? Whether or not they can find a way to live together…”

The clip shown featured humans huddled in bombed-out buildings and actors Jason Clarke and Gary Oldman confronting the ape, Caesar (played by Andy Serkis) with his face painted with white and red tribal-looking stripes.

Serkis who was also on the panel with Jason Clarke and Keri Russell, added "One of the big challenges of this movie was to take Caesar forward, to have him become a leader with responsibility for a society of 2000 apes, to inject some of the humanity he grew up with into that society so it would be a peaceful and egalitarian one. He's ten years older; he's a leader, a mature leader; he has a wife and teenage son. It's really all about the choices and reactions to the arrival of the humans and Caesar's response to that. It's about teaching the apes language as well as sign language. It's very rich and fertile ground for exploring the inner ape and also a lot about humanity."

[Comic-Con 2013 Preview]

"There's the great, sexy Andy Serkis leading the way," said Clarke, "and then they've hired Cirque de Soleil guys, parkour guys, so when you see apes you're seeing real athletes do extraordinary things. In the end we all just want to find our inner ape."

It was also revealed that the film will address the issue of the apes learning to talk.

Serkis said: “[The apes] communicate through the American sign language that allows for a universal sign language with the rest of the apes. There’s some gestures and vocal speaking. Then there are the young apes learning to speak better and faster than their parents.”

Directed by Reeves with a script from Scott Z. Burns, Amanda Silver, Rick Jaffa and Mark Bomback, 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' continues the story that began in 2011's 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' and features a cast that includes Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Enrique Murciano, Kirk Acevedo, Jocko Sims, and Judy Greer.

'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' will open on July 18, 2014.