Back on Friday, director Matt Reeves revealed the official logo for War for the Planet of the Apes, and that a special announcement will be made during tonight's episode of The Walking Dead. It was revealed earlier tonight that fans can enter a new contest to become an actual ape in War For the Planet of the Apes. Fans can visit ApesContest.com to submit a video of your most lifelike ape impersonation. One lucky winner will be on set during Caesar's "greatest battle yet."
Fans who wish to enter this contest must create a YouTube less than 30 seconds long with your ape impersonation, and each entry must include the text, "This Video Was Made For The #WarForTheApesContest." The video must be submitted in English, and if the winner is from the United States, you must have a valid passport to claim the grand prize, which includes travel to the set in Canada. Fans can submit their videos between now and November 30 AT 12:00 P.M. PT.
The video includes Matt Reeves and star Andy Serkis in his full motion capture suit, along with brief glimpses of footage from the set. Production started back in mid-October, and unlike Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which took place 15 years after the events of 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes, War for the Planet of the Apes will take place shortly after the events of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. The director also confirmed that Dawn of the Planet of the Apes composer Michael Giacchino will return to craft the score for this sequel. The filmmaker also revealed that he is filming on the Alexa 65mm camera, with a 2.40:1 aspect ratio. Unfortunately, he wouldn't divulge any story details yet, but the title certainly teases that the apes, lead by Andy Serkis' Caesar, will be heading to war against the humans.
The cast includes Gabriel Chavarria (Lowriders), whose character was compared to James Franco's Will Rodman in 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes, alongside Woody Harrelson as the human villain and Steve Zahn as a new war ape. Now that production has gotten under way, hopefully 20th Century Fox will release new story details along with a full cast list. Matt Reeves is directing from a script he co-wrote with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes writer Mark Bomback.
The studio has set a July 14, 2017 release date for War for the Planet of the Apes, which is currently the only movie scheduled for release on that date. However, the sequel will be sandwiched between two highly-anticipated productions, Disney's long-awaited sequel Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (July 7, 2017) and Warner Bros.' Untitled Christopher Nolan Movie 2017 (July 21, 2017). The film will also open two weeks before Sony and Marvel's Spider-Man reboot starring Tom Holland, which opens on July 28, 2017. Take a look at this new video, and visit ApesContest.com to enter this contest.