Caesar Will Face a Powerful New Adversary in War for the Planet of the Apes

The downside to the new Planet of the Apes series is the films are so FX-heavy that they take a long time to make—and you may forget a new one is coming. War for the Planet of the Apes is on the horizon, though, and it’ll be introduced to the world as part of New York Comic-Con next weekend.

Leading up to that event, Fox has released the first plot description from the film. In it, we learn not just what’s going to happen in the next prequel to Planet of the Apes, we also find out who Caesar is going to be squaring off against. Here’s the blurb:

In War for the Planet of the Apes, the third chapter of the critically acclaimed blockbuster franchise, Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species and the future of the planet.

The Colonel is being played by Woody Harrelson, which is kind of awesome, and this latest installment certainly sounds different enough from the last two to get us excited about it. You’ve still got to wonder, though, at what point does this franchise jump way into the future and get closer to Charlton Heston?

Directed by Matt Reeves and starring Andy Serkis, War for the Planet of the Apes will open July 14, 2017.