Gary Oldman Joins 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes'

While things may have started out rough for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, with the film losing director Rupert Wyatt, things definitely look bright now for the sequel to 2011's surprise hit. In addition to casting Zero Dark Thirty's Jason Clarke and ParaNorman's Kodi Smit-McPhee, ComingSoon.net broke the news on Thursday that The Dark Knight Rises' Gary Oldman had signed on for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

Now, ComingSoon.net has learned exclusively that Gary Oldman will be boarding the project as the leader of a human colony! Set 15 years after the events of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Dawn finds most of humanity wiped out and the intelligent apes ruling over the world. Part of the film's focus is said to be on a small group of San Francisco-based scientists that are forming a resistance against the apes and part follows Serkis' Caesar as he, like his namesake, tries to maintain order and power within his new civilization.

Oldman adds the Rise of the Planet of the Apes sequel to a resume that already includes fan-favorite franchises like The Dark Knight and Harry Potter, and the actor earned his first Oscar nomination in 2012 for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. I loved Rise of the Planet of the Apes, I can't wait to see what director Matt Reeves does with the impressive cast he's assembling for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.