Disney reportedly has plans to continue making Planet of the Apes movies. Over the past few years, The Walt Disney Company has become a powerhouse in the film industry after buying smaller companies such as Lucasfilm and Marvel. As if Star Wars and superhero movies weren’t profitable enough for the company, Disney’s deal to buy 20th Century Fox was also finalized this year.
After Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, the House of Mouse gained the rights to a lot of popular franchises like Avatar, Die Hard, and Alien. Marvel Studios is now able to include the X-Men and Fantastic Four in their cinematic universe thanks to the buy out as well. Disney also gained the rights to the Planet of the Apes franchise, which began back in 1968 with the film starring Charlton Heston. Several films have followed including a reboot from Tim Burton and more recently a prequel trilogy. The last Planet of the Apes film fans saw was the 2017 film War for the Planet of the Apes, but it looks like Disney has plans to continue with the franchise.
According to Variety, Disney will radically alter plans for their Fox film division, which includes more Planet of the Apes movies. After having a rough third quarter, Disney CEO Bob Iger mentioned that the Fox film division of Disney would go, “in a new direction, with an all new development slate that will focus on a select group of properties”. While a lot of Fox’s films that were in development have been abandoned, it has been confirmed that that Planet of the Apes will continue under Disney. Disney had previously claimed they would continue the Planet of the Apes franchise and it seems they are still holding true on their promise.
This reveal comes right on the heels of the news that several of 20th Century Fox’s franchises will be remade for Disney’s streaming service called Disney+. These franchises include Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Cheaper By the Dozen, Night at the Museum, as well as the Christmas classic Home Alone. While franchises will continue on the streaming platform, Disney+ will also be home to all-new live-action and animated Star Wars and Marvel TV shows like The Mandalorian and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.
The plethora of shows will no doubt bring some attention to Disney+, but continuing the Planet of the Apes franchise on the big screen could also be a good move for Disney. It isn’t quite clear just yet whether Disney will be rebooting the franchise or giving War for the Planet of the Apes a sequel, but either way, Disney will no doubt try to duplicate the success that 20th Century Fox saw with the Planet of the Apes series.
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Source: Variety
