Just came across this trailer for the upcoming sequel of 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the prequel to the venerated Planet of the Apes franchise where humans are supplanted by highly-evolved primates in the distant future. And in keeping with this origin story, the second installment – titled Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – takes place ten years after the events in the first film, where the enhanced apes unleashed a virus that devastated the planet.

Now, the human survivors of this virus have united and struck a tentative peace with the genetically-evolved apes lead by Caesar (Andy Serkis). But the peace proves to be short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine once and for all who the dominant primate on Earth is. That’s about the gist of what is shown in this first-look trailer and I’m sure fans can expect more as the release date (July 11th) approaches.

Personally, I think I’m going to skip this one, as I didn’t bother to see the first one and don’t really do prequels much. Which could be my loss, since I did hear some good things about it. But that’s the way it is. Some people love an origins story while others, like me, think they are pointless and little more than a chance to cash in again. I mean, we already know who wins right? The “damn, dirty apes!”

Anyway, be sure to check out the video below: