“The only Tim Burton film I don’t like”: When James Cameron annihilated ‘Planet of the Apes’
As the architect of the Terminator universe, James Cameron has been pressed for comment on every subsequent entry in the franchise that he didn’t direct himself, but he’s also developed a very strong connection to a long-running sci-fi property on which he hasn’t stepped up and taken the reins.
Whereas Cameron has been happy to share his unvarnished opinions on what went wrong with Rise of the Machines, Salvation, Genisys, and Dark Fate, his ire for Planet of the Apes is largely restricted to one instalment. He’s been a fan of the simian saga since he was first left in awe by Charlton Heston’s 1968 original, and he even came close to rebooting it himself.
These days, though, Cameron’s connection to Planet of the Apes is merely tangential, but they’re deep ties nonetheless. Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver co-wrote Rupert Wyatt’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Matt Reeves’ Dawn, while they’ve been producers on all four entries in the rebooted series up to Wes Ball’s Kingdom.
They were also credited alongside Cameron as the co-scribes of Avatar: The Way of Water and remain part of the writers’ room for the multitude of sequels. In addition, the two franchises share a studio in 20th Century and an effects house and share an effects house in Wētā FX, but he hasn’t felt the need to tear the most recent quartet to shreds the way he did Tim Burton’s 2001 do-over.
At one stage, Cameron was developing a new spin on Planet of the Apes alongside his Terminator and True Lies star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, only for disagreements with the boardroom to cause both of them to jump ship. After the project passed through the hands of several other notable filmmakers, including Peter Jackson and Michael Bay, it ended up with Burton, who, as far as the Titanic director was concerned, dropped the ball spectacularly.
“They turned out, I think, possibly the most egregious film that they could have on that subject because they miscast the director. It’s the only Tim Burton film that I don’t like,” he savagely told Ain’t It Cool, although he was hardly alone in believing somebody so famed for their eccentric, offbeat, and fantastical films was found severely wanting when they were handed a $100million budget and tasked to deliver a more straight-laced and conventional blockbuster carrying the added pressure of overhauling an iconic original.
Much to Cameron’s presumed delight, Burton said he’d “rather jump out of a window” than make a Planet of the Apes sequel, not that it was ever on the cards after his reimagining failed to catch fire among either critics or crowds. Would it have turned out any better had it been Cameron and Schwarzenegger leading the charge free from the shackles of studio interference? Based on their previous collaborations, almost certainly.
