'Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes' Trailer: James Franco Stars In Prequel (VIDEO)

As Charleston Heston hibernated, James Franco engineered the path to the end of the world.

Franco stars in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," the big budget prequel to the 1968 classic, "Planet of the Apes." He plays Will Rodman, a scientist testing his new attempts at curing Alzheimers on captive ape subjects. Unfortunately, it turns out, one of the cures works all too well, and an ape named Caesar begins to mutate and evolve.

While Franco tries to protect him, all hell soon breaks loose. Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in the "Lord of the Rings" movies, wears the sensors for the motion captured ape (CGI effects produced by the "LOTR" and "Avatar" team), while Freida Pinto fights for survival alongside Franco. John Lithgow, Brian Cox and "Harry Potter" star Tom Felton also play prominent roles.

This will be Franco's first big franchise film since "Spiderman 3"; he's coming off a rough performance at the box office for his new comedy, "Your Highness." Pinto is currently starring in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict-focused film, "Miral," directed by Julian Schnabel.

The film will be released on August 5th.

WATCH:

Comments

[cxd207]

12:59 PM on 05/19/2011

Looks good! Hopefully it will not disappoint

[josh bates]

02:05 AM on 05/19/2011

"As Charleston Heston hibernated, James Franco engineered the path to the end of the world." This just shows to me that the person who wrote this article did not watch any of the original PotA movies. If the writer would have done that then it would be known that the Apes did not evolve from being genetically created. My head spins with how many horrible remakes and 'prequels' and other such garbage has been coming out of the movie companies lately. I for one will not see this movie because I can't stand the CGI in the trailer. So it is Deep Blue Sea with the lack luster ability to get actors which makes them have to use poorly duplicated and rendered CGI animals. Like in the remake movie of I am Legend, why were all the infected poorly animated drastically duplicated humanoids that wore the same shredded clothing? I wish that this movie could be boycotted from even coming out, those who enjoy movies should really try and get together and make it so that the movie producers stop turning to remakes and prequels and so, so, many horrible sequels for movies. I do not see this movie going anywhere but straight to dollar cinemas and then straight to limited numbers of DVDs and scrubbed from wanting acknowledgement of its creation from Fox much like the last PotA movie they tried. When will you learn, Fox? When will you learn?

[gusraugh]

05:24 PM on 04/19/2011

James Franco is the MAN!!! I liked the last "Planet of the Apes" movie, but Mark Wahlberg sucks. He was the only problem with the last movie. The screenplay, the apes were realistic, and the dialogue was good. It could have been a little more grittier but thats what you get from a movie when it's star is cheesy Marky Mark and the Funky bunch. He has good ideas but when he includes himself it makes it suck. Mark Wahlberg = Vincent Chase. I like the supporting actors too, and I'm interested in seeing how they will use Gollum.

[SteveDenver]

01:24 AM on 04/22/2011

So, you're obsessed with Mark Wahlberg

[cdiasmd]

09:38 AM on 04/18/2011

Deep Blue Sea + Planet of the Apes=FAIL

The original ape saga was a circular paradox...Taylor's ship ends up being the vessel that brings Cornelius and (a pregnant) Zira BACK to present day and their child (Caesar) starts the world on the path to the Planet of the Apes (that Taylor finds). The five films covered maybe 60 years of a 3000 year circle. Writers, you had 2940 years to work w/... why reinvent the Genesis and go w/ a dumb story ripped from Deep Blue Sea?

[LittleSanityLeft]

05:32 PM on 04/18/2011

A derivative narrative doesn't automatically equal failure. Execution is far more important the originality.

[cdiasmd]

10:25 PM on 04/18/2011

ok, try this, everyone I know who has seen the trailer (more than 20 less than 50); first words outta their mouths "Deep Blue Sea". Ask Tim Burton about execution.

This re-boot will destroy the temporal paradox created by the original movies. Man turned to apes after all dogs and cats perished in a plague.

This is like Tim Burton having the joker kill Bruce Wayne's parents rather than Joe Chill. (and like how the Star Trek reboot sucked as compared to trek Cannon)

[josh bates]

02:08 AM on 05/19/2011

Not many people ever follow me when I try and explain that to them how exactly the PotA movies worked. Thank you so much for being one of the few people I know who states what you did in the opening of your comment.

[Cole 33]

10:59 AM on 04/15/2011

What a great looking trailer, I like this idea of seeing the evolution. That shot at the end of the trailer with Caesar was well done, how they can show in a subtle way that the wheels are turning, that discovery of self awareness. Andy Serkis does a great job there.

[mymind]

09:09 AM on 04/15/2011

Gosh, are the writers still on strike??? Another remake (reboot)??? It wouldn't surprise me if they made a movie of 'Leave it to Beaver' the way the new fresh ideas are popping out!

[practiceempathy]

10:34 AM on 04/19/2011

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119509/

[WESTFIELD]

10:01 PM on 04/14/2011

I have to agree with most other comments. Tim Burtons 2001 remake was one of the worst movies ever. I really hope this one is better and a good tribute to the original ones which remain a classic.

[BroadwayJoe]

08:29 PM on 04/14/2011

Pinto is so beautiful.

[socialtalker]

06:24 PM on 04/14/2011

i must say the trailer looks good, i hope its not disappointing like the PofA remake a few years ago.

[Twrexx]

04:24 PM on 04/14/2011

If Caesar is the orphaned child of Cornelius and Zira (see Escape from the POTA), how can he be in a prequel, unless this is a total reboot that ignores the prior films? Perhaps he is the "law giver" spoken of in earlier films. I just hope they kept Tim Burton far away from the set. His remake was godawful.

[josh bates]

02:12 AM on 05/19/2011

Sadly that won't be the case. Because in "Battle for the Planet of the Apes" you meet the Law Giver who is telling the stories of the past and hopefulness of the future to the gathered children of Apes and Man. He is is an Orangutan who through the TV Show that used to be on CBS you learn was a descendant of Caeser's friend in that movie, the Orangutan Virgil.

So. It's a horrible reboot that just ignores everything that was the Apes movies and stories.

[Twrexx]

02:49 AM on 05/19/2011

Thanks for the additional info. "Battle" was the one I remembered the least.

This reboot can't be any worse than the Tim Burton version.

[EnigmaPublius]

04:23 PM on 04/14/2011

"CHARLESTON Heston"?!

"[Andy Serkis] wears the CENSORS for the motion captured ape"?!

Good Lord. Who wrote this?

[stormbear]

11:51 PM on 04/14/2011

It is one of those HuffPo writers that is working for free.

[SteveDenver]

01:29 AM on 04/22/2011

Having worked for newspapers in the recent past, I bet anything this is a studio press release. They provide 50 blurbs appealing to different market shares and of varying word count. They're always tragically written.

[JaiS]

04:18 PM on 04/14/2011

I cringe when this broad gets hype. She's ordinary looking, I've had better looking servants in Mumbai, but to White people, she's "exotic", such a cliche. 9 out of 10 White women I see on the NY subway are better looking than her.

[veritas88]

07:53 PM on 04/14/2011

You, like many other Indians, probably won't acknowledge Pinto's beauty because she has darker skin. Of course you think white women are better looking.

[JaiS]

08:53 PM on 04/14/2011

You jelly ?

[SteveDenver]

01:29 AM on 04/22/2011

YouraPig

[Hopethisworks]

03:53 PM on 04/14/2011

POA, how original.

[GraphicMatt]

01:29 PM on 04/14/2011

Please be better than the last PoA remake! Please be better than the last PoA remake! Please be better than the last PoA remake!!!

[robXdion]

01:29 PM on 04/14/2011

How are they going to tie this into the Tim Burton remake that had General Thade returning to Earth before Mark Wahlberg in some pseudo-Twilight Zone time travel twist?

If someone can explain that one, they should be rewarded 50 new fans and a "cool kid" badge of their choice.