Director Matt Reeves may be taking the Planet of the Apes franchise in a new direction with War for the Planet of the Apes, but the upcoming sequel has now been confirmed to feature a character familiar to fans of 1968's Planet of the Apes.
New concept art unveiled by EW features the gorilla Luca (Michael Adamthwaite) sharing a tender moment with a mute girl known as Nova (Amiah Miller), who EW reveals is the same character portrayed by Linda Harrison in the '68 film.
It's not yet known if Nova's destiny will still be on track to meet astronaut Taylor (played by Charlton Heston in the original Planet of the Apes movie), or if she'll instead take a different path in the new films, but as Reeves told EW, she'll play a key role in Caesar's (Andy Serkis) inner turmoil:
“The girl is his pull back to his empathy and — for lack of a better word — his human side.”
We'll keep Daily Dead readers updated on further details as they are revealed. In the meantime, check out the new concept art below, and in case you missed it, check out our War for the Planet of the Apes highlights from the 2017 20th Century Fox Showcase.
"In War for the Planet of the Apes, the third chapter of the critically acclaimed blockbuster franchise, Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species and the future of the planet."
Directed by Matt Reeves from a screenplay he wrote with Mark Bomback, War for the Planet of the Apes stars Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, Karin Konoval, Amiah Miller, and Terry Notary. The sequel is scheduled to hit theaters on July 14th, 2017.
Concept art from 20th Century Fox via EW:
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