Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a 2014 American science fiction dystopian action thriller film directed by Matt Reeves and written by Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. It stars Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, and Kodi Smit-McPhee. It is the sequel to the 2011 film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which began 20th Century Fox's reboot of the Planet of the Apes series. Dawn is set 10 years after the events of Rise, and follows a group of people in San Francisco who struggle to stay alive in the aftermath of a plague that wiped out most of humanity, while Caesar tries to maintain dominance over his community of intelligent apes.
A sequel, titled War for the Planet of the Apes, was released on July 14, 2017. Ten years after the global pandemic of a deadly Simian Flu, the worldwide human population has been drastically reduced, with only about one in 500 genetically immune. Civilization is destroyed from the result of societal collapse. The apes, under the chimpanzee Caesar, all bestowed with genetically enhanced intelligence by the virus, have long-established a colony in the Muir Woods near San Francisco.
A group of humans, led by a man named Malcolm, trespass the apes' territory from San Francisco in search of a hydroelectric dam that would restore power to the city. An encounter by Caesar's son Blue Eyes and his friend Ash leads to the latter's injury by a man named Carver. Malcolm manages to prevent further escalation, and Caesar orders the humans to leave. Prompted by Koba, a scarred bonobo which holds a grudge against humans for his mistreatment as a laboratory test subject, Caesar brings his army to the humans' community as a display of strength. Caesar announces to the community that while the apes do not want war, he intends to fight the humans if he is forced to, while demanding the humans stay in their territory. Malcolm convinces his fellow leader Dreyfus to give him time to take a small team to the forest and reconcile with the apes so they can access the dam. He meets with Caesar, who allows them to work on the generator on the condition that they surrender their guns. As Malcolm, his wife Ellie, and his son Alexander work, they bond with the apes. The fragile bonding is greatly helped when Ellie, a nurse, effectively treats Caesar's wife Cornelia's illness.
Dreyfus arms his community using the Fort Point armory. Koba discovers the armory and confronts Caesar, accusing him of loving humans more than apes. Caesar beats Koba in response, but refrains from killing him. Koba later returns to the armory and takes an assault rifle, killing two guards, and he secretly kills Carver after the humans succeed in repairing the generator and restoring power to the city. Koba takes advantage of their celebration to covertly set fire to the apes' home. He then shoots Caesar, who falls into the underbrush below, and frames the humans for Caesar's apparent death in order to wage war. Koba quickly takes command and leads the ape army into San Francisco, where they plunder the armory and mount a full-scale assault on the human settlement. Despite taking heavy casualties, the apes breach the building and imprison the humans as Dreyfus flees underground. When Ash refuses Koba's orders to kill unarmed humans, citing Caesar's teachings, Koba throws him to his death and has any other ape who is loyal to Caesar imprisoned, including Maurice, Luca and Rocket.
Malcolm's family find a severely wounded Caesar and transport him to his former house in San Francisco. When Malcolm sneaks back into the settlement to find medical supplies for Caesar, he encounters Blue Eyes, who spares him before learning that his father is still alive and accompanies Malcolm to find him. Caesar reveals that it was Koba who shot him, not the humans, and confesses that apes can be as corrupt and violent as humans. After reconciling with Caesar, Blue Eyes returns to the tower and frees the imprisoned humans and apes. Malcolm escorts the apes into the tower and then finds Dreyfus. He learns that the return of electricity allowed Dreyfus' men to make radio contact with survivors from a military base, who are now coming to fight the apes. Caesar confronts Koba at the top of the tower; as they fight, Dreyfus, who has initiated a suicide mission, detonates C-4 charges that destabilize the tower in a failed attempt to kill the apes. Koba starts angrily shooting at the apes, but Caesar tackles him off a ledge. While clinging on a metal girder, Koba is disowned as an ape by Caesar and dropped to his death.
Malcolm and Caesar acknowledge their friendship, with Malcolm warning of the approaching human military. Caesar responds that the humans will never forgive the apes for their attack and convinces Malcolm to leave with his family. He then stands before a kneeling mass of apes, preparing for the upcoming war. After the credits, Koba is heard breathing after his fall.
Casting
Apes
- Andy Serkis as Caesar, a chimpanzee and leader of the evolved ape tribe.
- Toby Kebbell as Koba, a treacherous scarred bonobo.
- Judy Greer as Cornelia, Caesar's wife.
- Nick Thurston as Blue Eyes, Caesar and Cornelia's first son.
- Terry Notary as Rocket, Caesar's loyal lieutenant.
- Karin Konoval as Maurice, a Bornean orangutan and Caesar's loyal friend and adviser.
Humans
- Jason Clarke as Malcolm, the leader of the small group that forms a strong bond with Caesar and the other apes, and Ellie's husband
- Gary Oldman as Dreyfus, the leader of the remaining human survivors
- Keri Russell as Ellie, a former nurse at the CDC, and Malcolm's second wife
- Kodi Smit-McPhee as Alexander, Malcolm's son from a previous marriage
- Kirk Acevedo as Carver, a former San Francisco water worker and a member of Malcolm's group
- Jon Eyez as Foster, a member of Malcolm's group
- Enrique Murciano as Kemp, a member of Malcolm's group
- Keir O'Donnell as Finney, an ally of Dreyfus
- Kevin Rankin as McVeigh, a guard at the colony's armory
- Jocko Sims as Werner, the colony's radio operator
- James Franco (uncredited) as Will Rodman from Rise of the Planet of the Apes, in a cameo via a video from Caesar's childhood
After the release of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, director Rupert Wyatt commented on possible sequels: "I think we're ending with certain questions, which is quite exciting. To me, I can think of all sorts of sequels to this film, but this is just the beginning." Screenwriter and producer Rick Jaffa also stated that Rise featured several clues as to future sequels: "I hope that we're building a platform for future films. We're trying to plant a lot of the seeds for a lot of the things you are talking about in terms of the different apes and so forth."
In an interview recorded after the release of Rise, Wyatt stated, "We want to grow and evolve, in the films that will come after this, to the '68 original." Wyatt also stated that he wants it to take place eight years after Rise, as a whole new ape generation can be born, and explore the dynamics of Caesar and Koba's relationship. According to screenwriter Rick Jaffa, a version of the spaceship from the 1968 Planet of the Apes under the name Icarus was in Rise as a deliberate hint to a possible sequel.
In November 2011, Andy Serkis was the first to be announced as having closed a deal for a sequel to Rise. It was reported to be a "healthy seven-figure deal" for him to reprise his role as Caesar, the ape leader. On May 15, 2012, it was announced Scott Z. Burns had been hired to do rewrites on the original screenplay by Rise writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. On May 31, 2012, 20th Century Fox announced that the sequel would be titled Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
On September 17, 2012, there were reports that director Wyatt was considering leaving the sequel due to his concern that a May 2014 release date would not give him enough time to make the film properly. On October 1, Cloverfield director Matt Reeves was confirmed as his replacement. Reeves had been working on developing a new Twilight Zone film. On October 18, Mark Bomback, writer of Live Free or Die Hard, was reported to be doing a re-write for Reeves.
In December 2012, after the departure of director Wyatt, James Franco speculated that he would not return for the sequel, saying, "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." Freida Pinto, who played primatologist Caroline Aranha in Rise, confirmed that she would not return for Dawn. In April 2014, when asked by IGN about the fate of Franco and Pinto's characters, producer Dylan Clark said, "I mean, they’re the ones that died...They were ground zero of the virus."
In February 2013, actors Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, and Kodi Smit-McPhee were cast in lead roles for the sequel, set ten years after the events from the first film. In March 2013, actress Keri Russell was cast in a role. That same month, Judy Greer was cast as Cornelia, a female chimp and love interest for Caesar. Toby Kebbell, Enrique Murciano and Kirk Acevedo joined the cast during filming. On May 15, 2013, Jocko Sims was cast in a supporting role of military operative Werner.
