It’s still difficult to think about the Planet Of The Apes franchise without dwelling on Tim Burton’s disastrous “reimagining” in 2001, so it’s as good a place as any to start the Rise Of The Apes story. If you’ll cast your mind back to the end of that film, you’ll recall the door was left very much open to a sequel, with Mark Wahlberg’s return to earth greeted by a giant statue of Tim Roth’s villainous general.

However, neither Wahlberg nor Burton were much more enamoured with the project than their audience was. Poor old Wahlberg had turned down a part in Ocean’s 11 to take part in the first one, and wasn’t keen on making the same mistake twice. Burton meanwhile, told The Guardian that a sequel could happen, but that he’d “rather jump out of a window” than direct it.

Nothing much more was said about the matter until, when Fox announced plans to kick-start the franchise with a new prequel to be written and directed by Minority Report scribbler Scott Frank. With the working title Caesar in place, Frank planned to move away from the hammier elements of the series in favour of creating a more cerebral, serious-minded sci-fi picture.

So Fox had their man in place and a new direction in which to take the franchise. That is, they did until May of this year, when it was announced that Frank had left over issues with script and budget, leaving the project indefinitely on hold…