The details are slowly starting to add up for the newest addition to the Planet of the Apes franchise. In the latest in a series of cast announcements, Jessica Jones star Eka Darville and The Strain's Kevin Durand have been added to the cast of the upcoming Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.

The original Planet of the Apes was released in 1968 and was followed by four sequels in the next five years. Decades later, a reboot trilogy was made with considerable financial and critical success, consisting of Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017). These three films followed the story of the first hyper-intelligent ape, Caesar, as he led a rebellion against human oppression. Now it seems that a potential new trilogy is in the works, and will examine a later period of the Apes universe.

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The latest news about the project is the addition of Darville and Durand to the film's cast, per The Hollywood Reporter. Darville is best known for playing private investigator Malcolm Ducasse on Marvel's Jessica Jones, while Durand's credits include X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Real Steel. So far it has not been revealed what roles Darville or Durand will play in the latest ape film, but they will join fellow cast members Owen Teague, The Witcher's Freya Allen, and Peter Macon from The Orville. Wes Ball (The Maze Runner trilogy) will direct and Josh Friedman (Locke & Key, the Snowpiercer TV series) will write.

kingdom of the planet of the apes poster
20th Century Fox

Fans don't yet know what the new Planet of the Apes movie could be about. What is known, however, is that it will take place years after the previous film, War for the Planet of the Apes, and according to Ball will explore Caesar's legacy. It has been announced that Teague has been cast in a leading role as Cornelius. In the original Planet of the Apes, Cornelius was the name of the sympathetic ape (played by Roddy McDowall) who helps free astronaut George Taylor (Charlton Heston).

In the last reboot film, there was also a cameo from a young girl named Nova, presumably, the same Nova who was Heston's love interest in the original film (there played by Linda Harrison). Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes begins production this year, and all signs point to it leading audiences closer and close to the world seen in the original Planet of the Apes.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is expected to be released in 2024.

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Source: The Hollywood Reporter [2]