War for the Planet of the Apes trailer features Caesar versus a painted-up Woody Harrelson

20th Century Fox has dropped a brand new trailer for War for the Planet of the Apes, and if that title wasn’t enough of a hint, the footage promises the biggest ape vs human battle yet.

How is it even possible for visual effects to look THAT good? This franchise continues to set the bar incredibly high when it comes to motion capture performances, and maybe this will be the movie that finally gets the Academy to sit up and pay attention to the art form and potentially give Andy Serkis a nomination for his work as Caesar, the ape leader. I think the guy has earned it by now.

Director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) is behind the camera again for this entry, which looks like it doesn’t hold anything back regarding the movie’s full-scale action set pieces. A few other quick observations: The concept of one of Caesar’s apes defecting to the human side is fascinating to me since they’ve built such a strong community over the course of the past two films, and how about Woody Harrelson as a deranged, painted-up Colonel? He looks like he’s in Apocalypse Now or something, and I’m hoping he’s able to get fully unhinged and completely let loose in this film, because Harrelson is wonderful at chewing scenery when he gets revved up.

Directed by Matt Reeves and starring Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, and Judy Greer, War for the Planet of the Apes swings into theaters on July 14, 2017.

Image: 20th Century Fox