Dawn of the Planet of the Apes director talks sequel plot

Matt Reeves has opened up about the anticipated sequel to 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes', 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes'.

The 'Let Me In' director has taken over the reigns from Rupert Wyatt, who helmed the first film – a surprise hit thanks to great performances from Andy Serkis as the ape Caesar and James Franco.

“Caesar talks at the end of the movie, he has some level of speech. I wanted to make sure we're continuing to go along the path of evolution without missing it, it was so delicious to watch in the first movie,” he told Indiewire.

“The ape civilization is in the woods, between Vancouver and New Orleans, the world after what happens with the simian virus flu. The two main locales are San Francisco and the Muir Woods where the ape civilization is born.

[Details of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes emerge]

“We'll be doing a little shooting in San Francisco as well. A lot of the Louisiana shooting was to build huge wood sets outside in the woods to add realism, enormous exterior streets. We're shooting in the rain, in the wind, all on location out in the open in the elements.

“The crazy thing is the giant scale of this film, which is enormous for any movie, so much bigger. The only way it works is from an emotional intimate point-of-view. It has all the things that drive me to do something, an emotional core.”

The budget for the second film, following the near $500 million (£331 million) gross of the first, has been upped from $93 million (£62 million) to $120 million (£79 million).

Producer 20th Century Fox issued an official – though brief – synopsis of the plot in May, which read: “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.

[Gary Oldman for Rise of the Planet of the Apes sequel]

“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.”

Reeves added that British actor Toby Kebbell, star of films including 'Dead Man's Shoes' and 'Wrath of the Titans', has also joined the ape cast alongside Serkis, playing a character called Koba.

'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' also stars Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Keri Russell, and it's due out in July next year.