Matt Reeves will return for the third installment to "Planet of the Apes.
The news comes after 20th Century Fox began screening the first cut of "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes." Reeves will direct a script by Mark Bomback, who wrote part of the second installment.
Deadline is reporting that Reeves will go right into the third film, which is a priority for the studio.
With the directing deal completed the studio will now work on Bomback's deal as writer.
Reeves recently directed "Dawn of the Plant of the Apes," which will be released on July 11, 2014. The film, which stars Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke and Keri Russell, with Andy Serkis reprising his role as Caesar, continues the story of Caesar, the intelligent ape that led the breakout from a lab before much of the human race was wiped out at the close of the first film. In the new installment the surviving humans square off against the ape's growing army.
"Dawn Planet of the Apes" is based on the Pierre Boulle novel, and was first turned into a film that starred Charlton Heston in 1968.
The first "Rise of the Planet of Apes" was released in 2011 to critical acclaim. The film was written by Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa and directed by Ruper Wyatt. The film went on to gross $176 million domestically and $482 million worldwide. It was also nominated for one Academy Award for Visual Effects.