Another member has been added to the cast of new Planet of the Apes movie, Rise of the Apes according to The Wrap who broke the casting news last night. Brian Cox who we’ve seen in Alexander, The Bourne Supremacy, Troy and numerous other movies has signed on as the main villain:

Cox is in final negotiations to play the villainous owner of a primate sanctuary who runs the facility without compassion for the animals that live there.

The movie has already signed up James Franco, John Lithgow, Freida Pinto and Andy Serkis and will be directed by Rupert Wyatt.

More info from The Wrap:

Set in present day San Francisco, the origin story deals with the aftermath of man’s experiments with genetic engineering that lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.

A chimp named Caesar (Serkis) leads the uprising among the apes after having been raised by Lithgow and Franco’s father-and-son scientist characters.

Pinto plays a primatologist who helps Franco.

The movie is set for release in the US 24th June 2011 so hopefully we’ll get it around the same time.