WAR OF THE PLANET OF THE APES has found its James Franco/Jason Clarke, except…not quite as famous.
Gabriel Chavarria, who Matt Reeves has cast as “one of the two human leads” of WAR OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, is a relative unknown: his sole feature credits to date have been in the Hilary Swank-fronted FREEDOM WRITERS and the indie comedy TEACHER OF THE YEAR, and he’s best known for his starring role on the Hulu series EAST LOS HIGH.
His casting makes it obvious that the apes (led by Andy Serkis’ Caesar) are unquestionably the big draw of the series at this point, and that human star power isn’t as much of a concern as it was on the last two POTAs. The human characters and their efforts to fight/reconcile with the apes have been the weak points of the series so far, so it wouldn’t surprise or disappoint me in the slightest if they took as much of a backseat as they did in BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES this time around.
Still, I’m thinking that other human lead is going to be played by a more recognizable face, so keep an eye out for that news, as this flick’s set to get going this October.
Anyone familiar with Chavarria’s work excited by his casting, or are you still more excited for the returns of Caesar, Cornelia, Blue Eyes, Maurice, and Rocket?
