Before Peter Jackson journeyed to Middle-earth, he was developing a new take on the Planet of the Apes franchise. Hollywood spent much of the ’80s and ’90s trying to revive the series, and while speaking with IndieWire about The Frighteners, Jackson revealed a few details about his abandoned project—including plans for franchise veteran Roddy McDowall to play an ape inspired by Leonardo da Vinci.
Peter Jackson on his Planet of the Apes Project
“Fran and I wrote a treatment for a film that was called ‘The Renaissance of the Planet of the Apes,’ where Roddy McDowall would be playing a sort of Leonardo da Vinci type,” Jackson said. “We also had a first look deal with Miramax. We had all these projects, and they were all big effects projects. What were we going to do? I wanted to do ‘King Kong’ — ‘Kong’ is my favorite film — but we also wanted to do ‘The Lord of the Rings.‘”
Of course, fans of Planet of the Apes know McDowall as Cornelius and Caesar in the original movies. He also starred in the short-lived Planet of the Apes TV series as Galen, another new ape character. It would have been amazing to have seen him back in makeup. Sadly, McDowall died in 1998.
Eventually, the project attracted the attention of James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger, but Jackson ultimately departed, feeling that he wouldn’t have enough creative control with those two heavyweights involved.
“It was hard for us to figure out how to put them into our story outline,” Jackson said. “I hadn’t met Jim at that time, so that was kind of serious. I thought, ‘God, I don’t want to direct a movie that has Schwarzenegger and Cameron. I have no power at all.’“
James Cameron Would Have Brought Back Another Apes OG
Just as Jackson wanted to bring back McDowall, Cameron also wanted to bring back another classic Planet of the Apes actor: Charlton Heston. Cameron wanted Heston to return as Taylor, the astronaut from the original movie. Heston also returned in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, albeit in more of a supporting role.
Future of The Planet of the Apes Franchise
The Apes franchise did eventually return with Tim Burton’s 2001 reboot, but it was the modern trilogy which really caught fire. Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and War for the Planet of the Apes were incredible additions to the franchise. The latest film was Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, which jumped forward several hundred years with an all-new cast.
As for what’s next, it was revealed earlier this year that Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman will helm a new Planet of the Apes movie from a script by Josh Friedman. This one reportedly won’t be a continuation of Kingdom, but will instead tell a new original story.
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