Scott Z. Burns Writing Rise of the Planet of the Apes Sequel

Scott Z. Burns has been hired to work on the screenplay for the sequel to 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes for Fox according to The Hollywood Reporter. He will build on the draft written by Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa, the writers of the first movie.

If you recall what happened at the end of the first movie, the virus that made apes smarter, but is deadly to humans, got loose from the laboratory and is making its way to the general populace.

If the first movie is about the rise of the apes, then the sequel will presumably be about the fall of the humans through the effects of the man-made virus and how the apes went on to assume its place as Earth's most dominant species.

Since Burns wrote the screenplay to Steven Soderbergh's virus outbreak movie Contagion, he should know somethings about pandemics and how they affect people. We may even see some of the more harrowing scenes in Contagion recycled Rise of the Planet of the Apes 2.

For now, Rupert Wyatt is expected return to direct, and the only cast member confirmed for the sequel is Andy Serkis, who plays the ape Caesar.

2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes made over $480 million at the worldwide box office and is one of the better-reviewed films of that year with a Tomatometer of 83% at Rotten Tomatoes.

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