20th Century Fox issued a press release this afternoon announcing several release dates for its upcoming slate of films including the much anticipated sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a new Steven Spielberg sci-fi, the X-Men: First Class sequel and more.
First off, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is the title Fox is going with for their Rise of the Planet of the Apes sequel, which will once again be directed by Rupert Wyatt and will hit theaters Memorial Day (May 23, 2014) weekend in 2014. Specifics as to story and cast were not mentioned in the press release, though Andy Serkis will return as Caesar.
Then Matthew Vaughn will return to direct the as-yet untitled X-Men: First Class sequel for release on July 18, 2014. Like the Rise sequel, information is sketchy on this one though the film is scheduled to shoot in January as it has made headlines throughout the first part of this year, largely due to star Jennifer Lawrence‘s schedule and trying to fit The Hunger Games: Catching Fire in before she had to return to play Mystique for Vaughn. Simon Kinberg (Sherlock Holmes) wrote the script and there have been rumblings it would pick up with the assassination of John F. Kennedy, but nothing is confirmed at this point.
Steven Spielberg will return to sci-fi in 2014 with Robopocalypse, the adaptation of Daniel H. Wilson’s book of the same name written by Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods) exploring the fate of the human race following a robot uprising. This is a book I’ve actually read and if they get this right it could be quite good. The film was previously slated for a July 3, 2013 release, but has now been moved to April 25, 2014.
Fitting into Robopocalypse‘s old day is a 3-D conversion of Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day, a film the release actually refers to as ID43D. Yeesh, that’s bad.
Also in 2013 Fox will deliver The Secret Life of Walter Mitty opening Christmas Day 2013. The film is a remake of the 1947 Danny Kaye starrer, which itself was based on the 1939 short story by James Thurber and centers on Mitty, a man who escapes his unexciting daily life by delving into elaborate daydreams in which he is suddenly a heroic character. The pic stars Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Patton Oswalt, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn, Josh Charles and Sean Penn.
Next the studio has set its 3-D family feature Walking with Dinosaurs based on the successful TV series for December 20, 2013. Directed by Neil Nightingale and Barry Cook, the film follows two brothers wanting to follow in there fathers footsteps, which leads to a showdown in the Arctic North. No cast has been announced.
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters will hit theaters on August 16, 2013 in an attempt to keep the franchise based on Rick Riordan’s novels alive with Logan Lerman returning for the title role as Percy and his group of friends head to the titular sea to find the mythical Golden Fleece, as well as to free a friend who has been captured there.
The animated feature Epic (once titled Leafmen) with Beyonce Knowles leading a massive ensemble voice cast will hit theaters on May 24, 2013. The story is based on a children’s book by William Joyce and tells the story of an ongoing battle deep in the forest between the forces of good and the forces of evil. When a teen age girl finds herself magically transported into this secret universe, she must band together with a rag-tag team of fun and whimsical characters in order to save their world… and ours.
Josh Hutcherson, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Knoxville, Aziz Ansari, Jason Sudeikis, Pitbull, Steven Tyler, Blake Anderson and Judah Friedlander will all voice characters with Ice Age: Continental Drift helmer Chris Wedge directing.
And finally, the untitled Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy buddy cop comedy from Bridesmaids helmer Paul Feig will hit theaters on April 5, 2013. The untitled film centers on an FBI agent teaming up with a Boston police officer to take down a Russian mobster.
