"Planet of the Apes" may go beyond trilogy

13 Oct – When "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" debuted in 2011, it turned out to be both a critically and financially successful prequel/reboot of the "Planet of the Apes" series.

Then came "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" three years later, which in turn, became one of the rare blockbuster sequels that were actually better than the first movie in every aspect.

Of course, most of the first two movies' successes were largely attributed to Andy Serkis' unforgettable motion-capture ape performance as Caesar.

Next year, we will be getting a third movie under the title of "War For The Planet Of The Apes". Matt Reeves, who previously helmed the 2014 sequel, is also back in the director's chair for the second time.

But here lies an all-important question: What's next after "War For The Planet Of The Apes"? Will the story simply conclude in the trilogy?

According to Slashfilm, it turns out there may be more stories to tell after all as Matt Reeves and producer Dylan Clark have revealed that they "absolutely have ideas about where it goes."

Speaking of how the trilogy has developed so far, they added, "All of those things give us a chance to explore human nature and do it in a way that is really fun. 'Cause these are all, frankly, totally new stories. We're not doing any stories that were done."

However, fans might have to be ready to let their favourite ape Caesar go, as Reeves has mentioned in a previous interview, the "Apes" universe is meant to be larger than the character.

Whether the fourth movie is going to materialise will have to depend on the overall response (both critically and financially, of course) of "War for the Planet of the Apes" when it arrives on 13 July 2017.