Fox pushes Spielberg’s Robopocalypse, dates Rise of the Apes sequel

Last Updated on July 23, 2021

As usually the case at the end of a month, Fox has decided to do a little release date setting and shuffling for a pair of major tentpole outings…

First up is Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi extravaganza ROBOPOCALYPSE, which the studio has bumped back a year from July 3, 2013 to April 25, 2014. No reason was given for the bump, but my guess is Spielberg is simply far too busy to turn in a final product by next summer. Whatever the case, it seems the blockbuster season will begin even earlier next year, starting in late April. Craziness.

Here’s what the film is about:

In the near future, at a moment no one will notice, all the dazzling technology that runs our world will unite and turn against us. Taking on the persona of a shy human boy, a childlike but massively powerful artificial intelligence known as Archos comes online and assumes control over the global network of machines that regulate everything from transportation to utilities, defense and communication. In the months leading up to this, sporadic glitches are noticed by a handful of unconnected humans – a single mother disconcerted by her daughter’s menacing “smart” toys, a lonely Japanese bachelor who is victimized by his domestic robot companion, an isolated U.S. soldier who witnesses a ‘pacification unit’ go haywire – but most are unaware of the growing rebellion until it is too late.

Also announced was a release date for DAWN OF THE RISE OF THE APES, which will come to theaters on Memorial Day of 2014. For those counting, the weekend commences on May 23rd. Not much else is known about the flick save for it will be written by the in-demand Scott Z. Burns.

So mark it down, ROBOPOCALYPSE hits April 25, 2014. DAWN OF THE RISE OF THE APES hits May 23, 2014.

APES’ Freida Pinto