Rise of the Planet of the Apes director Rupert Wyatt was set to return for the sequel, but recently left the project. Fox has been considering a number of directors as a replacement and has now made a decision.

Cloverfield and Let Me In director Matt Reeves (pictured below) is finalizing a deal to direct the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, according to Deadline. He's been attached to a number of projects, including The Twilight Zone, and put those on hold or left them all together.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes already has a release date scheduled for May 23rd, 2014. Andy Serkis has signed on for the sequel, with Scott Z. Burns (ContagionThe Bourne Ultimatum) writing the screenplay that will continue the story from the previous film:

"The project continues the story set forth in last year’s critical and commercial hit movie featuring simians that are given human intelligence and subsequently break out of their facility. At the same time, a virus breaks out that causes the collapse of human society. The new project is taking the story to the next level, with the apes on the path to emerge as society’s new rulers."

Source: Deadline