James Franco has signed on to star in Planet of the Apes, the prequel to Rise of the Apes. 

Variety says that Franco beat out a number of Hollywood’s young elite actors for the coveted role.  He sat down with Apes director, Rupert Wyatt, and the two had an amazing meeting of the minds. 

The central part of the story’s origin is set in present day San Francisco and deals with the aftermath of man’s experiments with genetic engineering that lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy. Franco will play a driven scientist who becomes a crucial figure in the war between humans and apes. 

Production starts shooting July 5, 2010 with the movie opening June 24, 2011.