Franco set for 'Apes' role

James Franco is to star in 'Rise of the Apes'.

The US actor has been signed up by 21st Century Fox to play a young scientist who intervenes in the war between humans and apes in the sci-fi blockbuster.

The 31-year-old star beat a "number of Hollywood's young elite actors for the coveted role" in the movie, which is a prequel to Tim Burton's 2001 film 'Planet of the Apes', Variety reports.

The movie deals with the consequences of human experiments in genetic engineering which leads to the development of highly intelligent apes.

The animals will be digitally created by the New Zealand-based WETA Digital, which is set to employ the groundbreaking technologies developed for 'Avatar'.

The Rupert Wyatt-directed prequel will be produced by Peter Chernin and Dylan Clark and scripted by Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa.

'Rise of the Apes' is set to be released in June 2011.