Rise of the Apes is a completely new take on one of 20th Century Fox’s most beloved and successful franchises. Oscar®-winning visual effects house Weta Digital – employing certain of the groundbreaking technologies developed for Avatar – will render, for the first time ever in the film series, photo-realistic apes rather than costumed actors.

Rise of the Apes is an origin story in the truest sense of the term. Set in present day San Francisco, the film is a reality-based cautionary tale, a science fiction/science fact blend, where man’s own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.

The trailer is a mixed bag of sorts, but sets the right tone for the movie. It starts of with James Franco’s character, Dr. Will Rodman, finding a cure for Alzheimer’s and testing it on Apes. He explains how the cure could help millions as it allows the brain to heal itself. But, the drug has more potential than it seems. It increases brain activity, and the test chimp; Ceasar (convincingly played by Andy Serkis, Gollum), becomes more intelligent than the human subject. The big pharma shuts down the trail and cages Ceaser with other chimps. This is when the revolution starts. The second half of the trailer focus on the ‘Apes versus Humans’ as they start to take over the city. The action seems very focused and I would love to see how it pans out.

Set for release this August, the movie is directed by Rupart Wyatt (The Escapist). It stars James Fanco, Freida Pinto, Brain Cox and Andy Serkis.