After Rupert Wyatt departed from FOX’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the studio began the hunt for a new director. Seeing as the film is the sequel to a rather successful and very well reviewed reboot, we knew that directors would be lining up to ask for the job.
Today, only a few days after Wyatt left, we have the director shortlist for the film and it includes some very appealing names. As The Film Stage reports, Cloverfield helmer Matt Reeves is apparently the top choice but he’s followed closely by Guillermo del Toro, Looper‘s Rian Johnson, The Disappearance of Alice Creed‘s J Blakeson, Intruders‘ Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, The Impossible‘s Juan Antonio Bayona and finally, Take Shelter‘s Jeff Nichols.
With a May 23rd, 2014 release date set, whoever comes on board is going to have to get to work fast. As it is, Wyatt left the project because he felt that he would be too rushed with that release date. That being said, all of the above mentioned individuals, or at least most of them, are talented and efficient directors who can surely get the job done.
As for my personal choice, I’d be happy with most of the names here but I think Matt Reeves is a good pick. He’s shown a ton of promise with Cloverfield and Let Me In and I’m really a big fan of his work. That being said, I think Rian Johnson and Jeff Nichols would be interesting picks as well.
Whoever gets chosen, you can bet that FOX will do a great job with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. They know that there’s a lot to live up to and I don’t think they’ll let fans down with the sequel.