James Franco Doesn’t Expect To Be In Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes

By Rudie Obias | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

francoRise of the Planet of the Apes was a big surprise hit during the summer of 2011. No one expected the prequel film to actually be a really good movie. Now when we think of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, we often think of Andy Serkis’ brilliant performance as the ape Caesar, and not the star of the film James Franco. Now the question for the sequel is will the star of the first film return to the next. According to James Franco, maybe.

In an interview, Franco discussed future film projects including possibly appearing in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. When director Rupert Wyatt was in charge of the production, Franco disclosed that he would have had a small cameo or appearance, but now that Matt Reeves is set to direct the sequel film, he’s not sure if he will be part of the production. Franco revealed…

I was going to be a small part of the next one. There was a moment when Rupert Wyatt was going to direct the second one. A lot of the human characters that were in the first movie were dead in the sequel that Rupert was going to direct. But there was one scene, between Caesar and my character, maybe even just like on a video that was left behind, but then a lot of things happened, like [former Twentieth Century Fox co-chairman] Tom Rothman who was a big part of the first movie, left. Now Rupert’s not a part of it so I don’t know. My guess is I won’t be in it. Nobody’s talked to me since Rupert left.

Hopefully, Matt Reeves will express interest in having James Franco return in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. A small cameo to show Caesar’s attachment and affection for his old friend couldn’t hurt.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is set to be an audacious film compared to the first. Although the apes were the main attraction in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the narrative was mainly human driven with Franco’s character, Will Rodman, dealing with his father’s, Charles (John Lithgow), Alzheimer’s disease. The key to Charles Rodman’s lucidity was the serum that eventually made Caesar sentient. Now that the apes are killing off all the human characters, we expect to see an ape centric narrative.

If this is the case, how will Caesar become a bridge between humanity and the growing ape population? Will any human be safe from the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes?

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes opens in theaters everywhere on May 23rd 2014.