It was announced by 20th Century Fox that the follow up film to 2014's 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' has been pushed back a whole year, and will instead come out on July 14, 2017.

The change in release date of the film means it has taken over Fox's other upcoming film, 'The Fantastic Four 2', which has been moved to June 2, 2017.

As it stands, there is no word about the reasons behind the changes in release dates.

While some fans may be surprised or frustrated at the long wait for a new film, it might not seem surprising to some, especially given the reception of 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes'. The film by Director Matt Reeves ended up garnering over $700 million in the box office, making it the highest-grossing film in the franchise.

The year-long delay may be a good way for Reeves, who is returning in the director's chair, to meet the expectations set by its predecessor.

Reeves already shared his thoughts on the upcoming film in November, telling Coming Soon during an interview about their plans to progress the Caesar's storyline.

He stated that the first film showed Caesar's humble beginnings and his rise to being a revolutionary, while the second features him becoming the leader of the apes in the face of challenges. Subsequently the new and upcoming third will continue to follow that story.

"The notion of what we're after with the third is to sort of continue that trajectory and see how he becomes a seminal figure in ape history," he stated. "He almost becomes sort of like an ape Moses. A mythical status."

Reeves also said that he and Andy Serkis, who plays Caesar via motion capture, were also showcasing Caesar's status as an outsider not just to humans, but even to his fellow apes.

The upcoming 'Apes' film will be the ninth film overall in the 'Planet of the Apes' franchise, which originally began in 1968. It is the third in the reboot series following Director Rupert Wyatt's 2011 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' and Reeves' 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' released last year.