Director Matt Reeves (Let Me In) has added yet another cast member to his sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, but this time it’s on the side of the apes.  Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty) and Keri Russell are already set as the human leads in the follow-up, which takes place 15 years after the events of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, but now Judy Greer (The Descendants) has been tapped to play the female ape lead opposite Andy Serkis’ Caesar.  Greer’s character, Cornelia, was briefly introduced in the first film as a potential love interest for Caesar, but it’s been expanded for the follow-up where Greer will handle the performance capture duties.  Hit the jump for more.

Greer and Serkis previously worked together on the comedy 13 Going on 30, and Vulture reports that it was Serkis who convinced the actress to lobby for a role in the Apes sequel. Though Greer’s work will be translated to screen through motion-capture technology, she has plenty of experience bringing animated characters to life through her hilarious work on the FX series Archer.  She’ll be seen later this year in Kimberly Peirce’s horror remake Carrie and will reprise her role as Kitty in the new season of Arrested Development on Netflix this spring.

The impressive cast for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes also includes Gary Oldman and Kodi Smit-McPhee, and production is slated to begin soon.  The story will weave back and forth between a human colony struggling for survival in San Francisco and Caesar’s attempt to maintain dominance over his new kingdom.  The 20th Century Fox film is slated to open on May 23, 2014.

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