Will The “Apes” Need A New Director?

Late last night Deadline broke the news that Rupert Wyatt, director of last year’s superb Rise of the Planet of the Apes, is about to leave production of the 2014 sequel, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

Wyatt’s reservations are due to the May 2014 release date, a date that may not give the director enough time to properly deliver his preferred take on the material. He also has two other small projects on his plate: Londongrad at Warner Brothers (a studio anxious to steal him away from Fox), and Agent 13 at Universal. After Rise, Wyatt became one of the hottest up and comers in town, many calling him out as the next Christopher Nolan.

Luckily for Fox, they have a script on hand by Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver, the screenwriters of Rise, and Scott Z Burns, the author of World War Z. If Wyatt chooses to leave the sequel they should be able to find a director willing to step in to the high profile project fairly quickly.

We’ll keep you updated as this story develops.