Variety reports that Steve Zahn has signed on for the upcoming War For The Planet Of The Apes, and unlike Gabriel Chavarria (Freedom Writers)—who also recently joined the cast—Zahn will putting on a pair of ping-pong-ball-motion-capture pajamas to play one of the apes. The plot is being kept under wraps, but presumably he’ll be one of Caesar’s simian soldiers. More certain is the assumption he’ll be playing a Steve-Zahn type of sidekick ape, who is easily overwhelmed but provides much-needed levity in sticky situations. Meanwhile, Woody Harrelson will be on the other side of the battle map; he’s being billed as an antagonist only known as “The Colonel,” a rank that only adds intrigue to the trajectory of the current KFC conspiracy.
Director Matt Reeves has also clarified via Twitter that the title is War For The Planet Of The Apes, and not War Of The Planet Of The Apes. It’s a minor change, and certainly better than War Apes: Conflict Of The Simians, which would have been the film’s title had Michael Bay gotten his stinking paws on the franchise.
War (What Is It Good For?) The Planet Of The Apes will break out in theaters July 14, 2017.