‘Severance’ Actress Dichen Lachman Joins ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ (Exclusive)

Severance actress Dichen Lachman is going ape.

Lachman, who plays a key role opposite Adam Scott in the buzzy Apple TV+ show, has joined the chest-thumping cast of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, 20th Century Studios’ latest Planet of the Apes movie.

The new Apes movie is set many years after the conclusion of 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes. Many apes societies have grown from when the Moses-like Caesar brought his people to an oasis, while humans have been reduced to a feral-like existence. Some ape groups have never heard of Caesar, while others have contorted his teaching to build burgeoning empires.

In this setting, one ape leader begins to enslave other groups to find human technology, while another ape, who watched his clan be taken, embarks on a journey to find freedom. A young human woman becomes key to the latter’s quest, although she has plans of her own.

The screenplay is by Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver and Patrick Aison.

Shooting is underway in Australia with Freya Allan, Owen Teague, William H. Macy and Kevin Durand among the key players.

It is unclear who Dichen is playing.

The Kathmandu, Nepal-born actress played a black-market dinosaur dealer in Jurassic World Dominion, which grossed over $1 billion when it was released last year. She also voiced General Atitaya in Disney Animation’s Raya and the Last Dragon.

In Severance, Lachman played a wellness counselor with an unusual connection to the company worker played by Scott. The show was renewed for a second season with Lachman due to return.

Lachman is repped by Gersh, Management Production Entertainment and Ginsburg Daniels.