Andy-Serkis-as-Caesar-in-Dawn-of-the-Planet-of-the-Apes

There’s no doubt that Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is one of the most anticipated movies of next year, and certainly one of the biggest blockbusters to look forward to next summer.

Rupert Wyatt’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes was received brilliantly by audiences and critics alike back in 2011, with Andy Serkis’ performance as the motion-captured chimp, Caesar, hailed as one of the most memorable of its kind of all time.

The reboot netted almost half a billion dollars at the box office, and with the sequel set for the height of summer next year, expectations are understandably high.

Comic-Con brought with it the first look at Serkis’ Caesar in the sequel, and things have been fairly quiet since the summer. But with next summer’s release date very much on the horizon, the studio has now debuted the first teaser trailer, giving a flavour for what to expect next year.

A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth’s dominant species.

Jason Clarke leads the human cast this time around, with Keri Russell, Judy Greer, Gary Oldman, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Enrique Murciano, and Kirk Acevedo joining Serkis and Clarke on either side of the ape/human divide.

Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) came on board to direct the sequel in Wyatt’s place, with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver penning the original script, and Mark Bomback and Scott Z. Burns doing rewrites.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is set to be released on 17th July, 2014 in the UK, following a day later in the US on July 18th.