Hollywood Popular Artists

Sep 26th 2012, 15:00

When "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" director Rupert Wyatt took the Gary Ross route and stepped down from the follow-up, the immediate question became, well, who's it going to be? The world of "Rise" nicely set up a sci-fi canvas for any ambitious filmmaker to take over and do pretty much anything they wanted for "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes."

Deadline now claims that 20th Century Fox has a shortlist made up of something of the most exciting up-and-coming directors and one unrealistic vet. Here's our rundown.

Matt Reeves
By most accounts, he's the studio's top choice by a long shot. The "Cloverfield" director had been attached to "The Twilight Zone" before leaving the project earlier this week. The timing sure does seem convenient.

J Blakeson
This British director made a good impression with "The Disappearance of Alice Creed and seems poised for a big-budget opportunity.

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Having successfully taken over one franchise, the "28 Week Later" director could make for a good, qualified replacement. Plus, we know he can handle dystopia.

Jeff Nichols
Consider this our "oh please, oh please, oh please" candidate. Nichols directed last year's criminally under-nominated "Take Shelter," a kind-of-maybe apocalypse movie, and the guy has some serious talent. It's only a matter of time before he moves to something the scale of "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes."

Juan Antonio Bayona
Bayona made the jump to larger scale pictures with the TIFF film "The Impossible," and his eye for stunning visuals would match up perfectly with a property like "Apes."

Guillermo del Toro
This will never happen. The man has so many projects and too many original ideas to take on the sequel to a reboot.

Rian Johnson
The dude already said "no."

Who do you want to direct "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"? Let us know what you think in the comments below and on Twitter!

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