RISE OF THE APES Finds Its First Actor: James Franco

Bananas all around POTA fans. James Franco (MILK) has become the first to sign on for 20th Century Fox’s RISE OF THE APES. According to The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, the prequel, directed by Rupert Wyatt,

focuses on a scientist (Franco) who has been working on a cure for Alzheimer’s that is being tested on apes. The test subject named Caesar starts to evolve rapidly, and the scientist takes him home to live with him and protects him from cruel doctors.

The story is designed to be show the modern-day event that set in motion the eventual dominance of apes over humans seen the classic 1960s and ’70s movies. It is unclear how much of the movie will focus on the ape inciting an ape revolution, but given that effects company WETA is on board, the monkey play could be significant. The apes will not be actors in costumes but rather rendered digitally to be photo-realistic by WETA, employing certain of the groundbreaking technologies developed for Avatar.

I still can’t help but think this film is going the way of the SIMPSONS and their take on PLANET OF THE APES starring Troy McClure. Who can ever forget that musical with such show-stopping tunes as “Dr. Zaius” which included the infamous line “from Chimpan-A To Chimpan-Z.”

Funny stuff. In any case, filming begins on July 5th in British Columbia. Look for RISE OF THE APES in theaters on June 24, 2011.