After stepping into Marvel’s cosmic world with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, filmmaker Matt Shakman is now heading toward another massive franchise universe — only this time, it’s filled with intelligent apes instead of superheroes. Disney and 20th Century Studios have officially tapped Shakman to direct a brand-new entry in the long-running Planet of the Apes franchise, continuing one of Hollywood’s most critically respected sci-fi sagas.
The move honestly makes a lot of sense when looking at Shakman’s recent career path. Over the last few years, he has quietly become one of the industry’s go-to directors for handling large-scale worldbuilding projects that balance spectacle with emotional storytelling. After earning widespread attention for Marvel’s WandaVision, Shakman proved he could manage franchise storytelling while still giving projects personality and atmosphere. Disney clearly noticed that because now he’s being trusted with another billion-dollar universe.
What’s even more interesting is that Shakman won’t be entering the Apes world alone. Screenwriter Josh Friedman is also returning after previously writing Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Friedman has quietly become one of 20th Century Studios’ most valuable writers in recent years, having also worked on major projects like Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar: Fire and Ash. That continuing collaboration suggests the studio wants creative consistency while expanding the Planet of the Apes timeline even further.
At the moment, plot details for the new film are being kept tightly under wraps. But considering how Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ended, fans already expect the franchise to dive deeper into the fragile balance between human survivors and the increasingly evolved ape civilization. The modern Apes films have always stood out because they mixed blockbuster action with surprisingly emotional and political storytelling. Instead of becoming simple CGI spectacle films, they explored themes like power, fear, leadership, survival, and the collapse of humanity itself.
That emotional depth is honestly one reason why the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise became so respected over the last 15 years. Beginning with Rise of the Planet of the Apes and continuing through Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes, the series managed to achieve something rare in modern Hollywood — critical acclaim alongside strong box office numbers. Across four films, the franchise has earned more than $2 billion globally while also maintaining a reputation for smart storytelling and groundbreaking visual effects.
Last year’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes proved there’s still major audience interest in the universe even after Caesar’s storyline concluded. The film reportedly earned close to $400 million worldwide against a budget of around $160 million, giving Disney confidence that the franchise still has long-term theatrical potential. While some fans initially worried the series would lose emotional weight without Caesar at the center, Kingdom successfully expanded the mythology and introduced a new generation of ape leaders.
Shakman stepping into that universe could actually push the franchise into a slightly different creative direction. Unlike some blockbuster directors who rely purely on action scale, Shakman’s television background gives him a strong understanding of character-driven pacing and layered ensemble storytelling. His work on shows like Succession, Game of Thrones, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia shows how flexible his directing style can be depending on the material.
He also directed episodes of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, another large-scale franchise project dealing with visual spectacle and emotional character arcs together. That experience could become valuable for Planet of the Apes, especially because the franchise increasingly depends on blending motion-capture performances with grounded emotional storytelling rather than nonstop action.
Behind the scenes, longtime franchise creatives Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver are also attached as producers. Their continued involvement is important because both played major roles in shaping the modern Apes reboot era from the very beginning. Keeping familiar creative voices attached usually helps maintain tonal consistency across expanding franchises.
What Disney seems to understand right now is that Planet of the Apes occupies a very specific place in blockbuster cinema. It’s not as light or quippy as Marvel, and it’s not built purely around nostalgia either. The franchise survives because audiences actually care about the emotional stakes and moral conflicts happening underneath the visual effects. That balance is difficult to maintain, especially as franchises get bigger and more commercial over time.
There’s also growing curiosity about whether the new film will continue the current storyline directly or start steering the universe closer toward the original 1968 Planet of the Apes timeline starring Charlton Heston. Ever since the reboot series began, fans have constantly speculated about how eventually the franchise may connect with the older mythology involving fully dominant ape civilizations and nearly extinct humans.
For now, Disney is staying quiet about where exactly the story goes next. But with Matt Shakman now officially entering the franchise, it’s clear the studio sees Planet of the Apes as far more than a nostalgic property. After Marvel superheroes, giant monsters, and fantasy kingdoms, Shakman’s next challenge may become one of Hollywood’s most fascinating sci-fi worlds — and audiences will definitely be watching closely to see if the apes can continue evolving successfully on the big screen.
