Empire’s Don Jolin recently viewed 20 minutes of Matt Reeves’ upcoming contribution to the post-apocalyptic franchise, famous for exploring the consequences of genetic manipulation which leads to the rise of a primate society in which humans are subjugated by ape overlords.
Andy Serkis, the voice of the ape leader Caesar, introduced six clips to a select group at 20th Century Lot in Century City, LA, stating that; “You are the very, very first people on the planet to see this footage.”
Serkis discussed the footage, saying that the film was a “hugely ambitious project”. He further stated that it featured “the greatest amount of performance capture ever in a film.”
The clips included ‘First Contact’ between the humans and the apes, roughly a decade after the events of Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, in which the apes have developed a coherent civilization whilst the humans are struggling to survive. The advancement of the ape civilization is further explored in the ‘Ape’s Council scene‘ where the apes discuss the problem of human incursion.
Further clips introduced the human side of the story, including Gary Oldman’s character Dreyfus, as well as the possibility of peace between the two civilizations and an ‘Easter Egg’ for fans of the series.
Serkis commented on the advances made in capturing the ape actor’s facial performances, stating that “Weta have moved on extraordinarily, they are by far the world leading experts in facial capture.”
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes is scheduled for release in the UK on July 17.
