i09 has an interesting article on 6 upcoming movie prequels, and why they might not suck, and amongst them is Tom’s film “Ceasar: Rise of the Apes.” Amongst the high’s and low’s expected of the film (Tom made the high section) is listed the expected release date of June 24, 2011. This date has been confirmed via the film’s IMDB page for both the USA and Finland while Russia has a listed date of June 23, 2011.

Rise Of The Apes

What questions does it answer? We discover the secret history of Caesar, the first super-smart ape who led the ape uprising. Humans’ experiments with genetic engineering lead to development of intelligence in apes, which in turn leads to a war for supremacy.

Status: It’s been filming recently, and it’s in theaters June 24, 2011.

What it’s got going for it: James Franco plays the lead, a new character who wants to find a cure for the Alzheimer’s Disease affecting his father (John Lithgow). And Gollum himself, Andy Serkis, is playing Caesar. Brian Cox (X-Men’s William Stryker) plays a sadistic owner of a primate sanctuary, and Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) is his son. So all around, a good cast, and the first set pics look promising.

Why we’ve been burned before: The memory of Tim Burton’s disastrous Planet Of The Apes movie still stings. Plus, we’re not sure how apes that are entirely CG and motion-capture will look — although at least they’re being done by WETA. Also, it’s an Apes movie without as much social commentary — this time, according to Franco, it’s more of a cautionary Frankenstein-style tale of humans messing with science and paying the price. Plus it probably doesn’t have the plague that wipes out cats and dogs.