Keri Russell Joins Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

By Rudie Obias | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

Keri

Matt Reeves is surrounding himself with actors he’s worked with on his past projects. A few weeks ago, Reeves cast 16-year-old Kodi Smit-McPhee in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes; they previously worked together on the 2010 horror remake Let Me In. Now Reeves will be reunited with Felicity star Keri Russell in the upcoming Rise of the Planet of the Apes sequel.

According to Variety, Keri Russell will play the female lead in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. She will be joining Jason Clarke, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Gary Oldman, and Andy Serkis in the new film. Russell played the titular role in TV’s Felicity from 1998 to 2002. Matt Reeves created the that TV drama with Star Wars: Episode VII director J.J. Abrams, and both of them served as the series’ showrunners for the duration of its run.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is reported to take place 15 years after the events of Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Early reports also suggest that one part of the film will follow a group of scientists struggling to survive in San Francisco, while the other part will focus on the self-aware ape Caesar (Andy Serkis) as he tries to maintain dominance over the other human-hating apes.

Keri Russell made her film debut in Disney’s Honey, I Blew up the Kid in 1992. She also appeared in J.J. Abrams’ directorial film debut, Mission: Impossible III, in 2006. Recently, Russell appeared in the sci-fi/horror film Dark Skies and can be seen featured on the critically acclaimed TV series The Americans, on FX.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes will hit theaters everywhere on May 21, 2014.