Filmmaker's 'Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes' is set for release this July
 
Cloverfield director Matt Reeves will return to helm the next film in the Planet Of The Apes franchise, according to reports.

Reeves was in the director's chair for the forthcoming Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, which is set to open in cinemas this July. According to Deadline, studio Fox have already asked him to return and oversee a follow-up film which he will co-write with Mark Bomback. Early negotiations call for the pair to start work on the film as soon as work on their first sequel is finished.

Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes is set 15 years after the events of 2011's Rise Of The Planet Apes, in a world where intelligent apes rule and most of human race has been wiped out. Gary Oldman recently signed on to appear as the leader of a human colony, while Zero Dark Thirty's Jason Clarke also has an unknown role in the sequel.

Meanwhile, Andy Serkis will be back as rebellious chimp Caesar, but the star of the 2011 movie, James Franco, has admitted he is unlikely to return even for a cameo appearance.