Fox announces Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and X-Men: First Class Sequel in 2014.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes concept art

20th Century Fox LogoFox announced today that they will officially be releasing sequels to their 2011 hits Rise of the Planet of the Apes and X-Men: First Class in 2014.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is the title for the sequel, and it will get a US release date of Memorial Day 2014 release. We already know that Contagion writer Scott Z. Burns will write the film, and it will be  “taking the story to the next level, with the apes on the path to emerge as society’s new rulers”. Andy Serkis, who played ape Caesar via motion capture technology will return, as will director Rupert Wyatt. Writers Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa had also penned a draft. This means the film is due out a week before Disney-Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur.

The untitled X-Men: First Class sequel will come out on 18 July 2014 in the US. Coming back for the film are James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, January Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Caleb Landry Jones and Lucas Till. Simon Kinberg has been tapped to pen the film.

Word has also come through that they will be re-releasing Independence Day in 3D (!) on the 3 July 2013, probably based on their successful release of Titanic 3D and Star Wars – Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D this year.