20th Century Fox appears to be very happy with how the Rise of the Planet of the Apes sequel is turning out under the direction of Matt Reeves.  The Let Me In filmmaker is now set to take the helm of the untitled third Planet of the Apes film in this new prequel trilogy, which will follow directly after this summer’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.  Reeves stepped in to take the helm of Dawn when Rise director Rupert Wyatt departed the project over creative differences.  The follow-up takes place 15 years after the events of the first film and finds Caesar (Andy Serkis) attempting to assert his dominance over the apes while a small human colony struggles to survive in San Francisco.

Hit the jump for more on Planet of the Apes 3, including the possibility of Reeves having a hand in the screenplay. 

Per Deadline, Reeves is not only set to direct Planet of the Apes 3 but is also in talks to co-write the screenplay alongside Mark Bomback (The Wolverine), who rewrote Dawn of the Planet of the Apes when Reeves came onboard.  The directing deal is already done, and the studio is keen on moving forward with Apes 3 sooner rather than later so the filmmaker will likely be moving directly from one film to the other.  The first follow-up is led by a cast that includes Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, and Gary Oldman, and the film’s first teaser trailer was an incredibly promising look into where Reeves has taken the franchise.

Reeves got his start as the co-creator of the TV series Felicity with J.J. Abrams and made his feature directorial debut with 2008’s Cloverfield.  He has been attached to a number of interesting projects over the past couple of years, including This Dark Endeavor, but it appears that he’ll be tied up with the Apes franchise for the foreseeable future.  Dawn of the Planet of the Apes opens in 2D and 3D on July 11th.