All told, it’s been a pretty good summer so far, but perhaps our most anticipated tentpole is still to come: “Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes.” The 2011 reboot of the long-running franchise, “Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes,” was one of the most pleasant blockbuster surprises in years, and all the evidence we’ve seen of the follow-up, “Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes,” suggests it could build on that, from the top-notch helmer in “Let Me In” director Matt Reeves to the excellent cast, including Jason Clarke and Gary Oldman.
If further evidence were needed, a new TV spot has arrived via HitFix, and it looks as strong as anything we’ve seen. In particular, there’s one new money shot, in the tradition of the gorilla-punches-horse scene from the last film, which sees some of Caesar’s gang going on a bear hunt. Star Andy Serkis, who plays Caesar, spoke to some journalists at an unveiling of 20 minutes of footage last week, and says that the film won’t be violence-led, as such, though, saying to journalists including Flicks and Bits that it’s a “peace movie” rather than a war movie: “very complex and very much more about the emotions.” Indeed, he went as far as to base his performance on a late, and very famous, world figure: “It was really important to base the character on a leader who is capable of empathy, and there aren’t that many out there, however Nelson Mandela came to mind.”
No one tell William Nicholson. You can watch both the TV spot and the full Q&A with Serkis below, along with a bunch of new images. “Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes” hits theaters on Friday, July 11th.
