Eka Darville Joins ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’

Jessica Jones actor Eka Darville is the latest to join 20th Century Studios’ newest Planet of the Apes film Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Darville, whose character details are being kept under wraps, joins a cast that already includes Owen Teague (It), Freya Allen (The Witcher), and Peter Macon (The Orville). The film will begin production next month under the direction of Wes Ball (The Maze Runner trilogy).

This film starts an all-new chapter in the Planet of the Apes saga, picking up many years after the conclusion of 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes. The screenplay is by Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds), Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), and Patrick Aison (Prey). Joe Hartwick Jr. (The Maze Runner trilogy), Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, and Jason Reed (Mulan) are the film’s producers. Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping are the executive producers.

Planet of the Apes is one of 20th Century Studios’ most popular and enduring franchises, amassing more than $1.7 billion worldwide. Based on a novel by Pierre Boulle, the first film in the series was released by Twentieth Century-Fox in 1968 and went on to become one of the year’s biggest hits, winning a special Academy Award and followed by four theatrical sequels and two television series. A remake, Planet of the Apes, directed by Tim Burton, was released in 2001, then a 2011 reboot, Rise of the Planet of the Apes was followed by two sequels, 2014’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes.