Six years have passed since Matt Reeves’ ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’ ended the ‘Planet of the Apes’ reboot trilogy, Andy Serkis’ Caesar –– spoiler alert if you somehow didn’t see it –– dying after finally leading his people to the promised land.
But now, over half a decade on and with a new director at the helm (‘The Maze Runner’ trilogy’s Wes Ball), the franchise is back –– and it’s time to see what Caesar’s descendants are made of.
As the first teaser for ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes‘ suggests, time has also moved on within the story itself, as the simians dominate the planet while humans are trying to escape capture.
What’s the story of ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’?
Noa (voiced by Owen Teague) in 20th Century Studios’ ‘Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes.’ Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
The new movie is set several generations in the future following Caesar’s reign, in which apes are the dominant species living harmoniously and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows.
As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape –– Caesar’s son Cornelius (Owen Teague) undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.
Related Article: Freya Allen and Peter Macon Join Next ‘Apes’ Movie, ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’
Who else is in ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’?
Proximus Caesar (voiced by Kevin Durand) in 20th Century Studios’ ‘Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes.’ Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
The cast, playing a blend of performance captured ape characters and humans, includes Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon and William H. Macy.
Since jumping aboard in 2019, Ball has been developing the script and figuring out how to follow in Reeves’ footsteps, working with VFX experts to design the various ape characters and more.
Screenplay-wise, Ball has ‘War of the Worlds’ Josh Friedman (who more recently worked on ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’), ‘Prey’s Patrick Aison and Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (the writers behind ‘Rise’ and ‘Dawn’ from the most recent trilogy) on hand.
This was what 20th Century studio president Steve Asbell said about the new movie:
“‘Planet of the Apes’ is one of the most iconic and storied science fiction franchises in film history, as well as being an indelible part of our studio’s legacy. With ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ we are privileged to continue the series’ tradition of imaginative, thought-provoking cinema, and can’t wait to share Wes’ extraordinary vision for this new chapter with audiences in 2024.”
And here’s star Owen Teague talking about performance capture to The Hollywood Reporter:
“Andy Serkis and I had a meeting, and he was part of why I became an actor. So, this was something that I’d been wanting to do my entire life, and it was literally a dream come true to get to do this job and play this character. I remember Andy being like, ‘You’ll get used to performance capture and you’ll stop worrying about it after the first week.’ And he was absolutely right.”
When is ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ in theaters?
The new film in the ‘Apes’ franchise will be on screens from May 24th next year.
Raka (voiced by Peter Macon) in 20th Century Studios’ ‘Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes.’ Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
(L to R) Noa (voiced by Owen Teague) and Raka (voiced by Peter Macon) in 20th Century Studios’ ‘Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes.’ Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Freya Allen as Mae in 20th Century Studios’ ‘Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes.’ Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Noa (voiced by Owen Teague) in 20th Century Studios’ ‘Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes.’ Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Noa (voiced by Owen Teague) in 20th Century Studios’ ‘Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes.’ Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
A scene still from 20th Century Studios’ ‘Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes.’ Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Noa (voiced by Owen Teague) in 20th Century Studios’ ‘Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes.’ Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
20th Century Studios’ ‘Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes.’ Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
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