Rise of the Planet of the Apes was the seventh film in the historic franchise, and went on to gross $481 million. Though we’ve already moved on to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Rise continues to resonate with fans.

Now new concept art reveals an alternate ending for the film that launched the successful reboot, which has a direct nod to the original film. Hit the jump to check them out.

The images below come from concept artist Brian Cunningham (Godzilla, Watchmen), and were discovered on FilmSketchr via ScreenCrush. As you can see the concept art would be for a scene that takes place towards the end of Rise of the Planet of the Apes. We first see a much older and tattooed Caesar in a damaged metal structure walking up a spiral staircase. The next image would reveal a closer look at Caesar, who is looking out in the distance. The final image would reveal that Caesar is actually standing in a battered Statue of Liberty overlooking a New York City that is engulfed in flames.

Now as to why the scene wasn’t shot, it could be that Fox didn’t plan on making a sequel for the film. In the end the scene wasn’t shot, and Fox went on to make Dawn, which took place some odd years after the events of the first film, with Caesar staying in San Fransisco. Based on how the film ended, we could get a chance to see some of the Rise concept art come to life, and establish a direct connection between the reboot and the Statue of Liberty we saw in the Charleston Heston film.

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[Source: FilmSketchr via ScreenCrush]