20th Century Fox has officially announced their upcoming Planet of the Apes prequel, tentatively titled Rise of the Apes, which is set for release on June 24th, 2011. Fox has also confirmed that Rupert Wyatt (The Escapist) will be directing a script written by Amanda Silver & Rick Jaffa (The Relic) and Weta Digital will render, for the first time ever in the film series, photo-realistic apes rather than costumed actors.

Check out the official press release below for more details

Twentieth Century Fox has set a June 24, 2011 release for RISE OF THE APES, a completely new take on one of the Studio’s most beloved and successful franchises. Oscar®-winning visual effects house WETA Digital – employing certain of the groundbreaking technologies developed for AVATAR – will render, for the first time ever in the film series, photo-realistic apes rather than costumed actors.

Peter Chernin and Dylan Clark will produce for Chernin Entertainment under its new pact with Fox. Acclaimed filmmaker Rupert Wyatt (“The Escapist”) is directing from a screenplay by Amanda Silver & Rick Jaffa, who also are producing.

RISE OF THE APES (tentative title) is an origin story in the truest sense of the term. Set in present day San Francisco, the film is a reality-based cautionary tale, a science fiction/science fact blend, where man’s own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.

[Source] Deadline