Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes – Release Date, Director, Trailer, And More Info
You just can't keep a good (or a bad) ape down! The astonishing longevity of the "Planet of the Apes" franchise cannot be overstated. Save for "Star Wars," it's the most successful sci-fi series to date, spawning nine films over six decades. Part of the appeal of "Apes" is its ability to create a dystopian world that still remains hopeful. Granted, the original pentalogy of films started out with a lot of gloom and doom that bottled the revolutionary spirit of the late sixties and paired it with the unrest and anti-war protests of the seventies. Moving away from Charlton "Get your stinkin' paws off of me" Heston and focusing on Roddy McDowall's lovable ape leader Caesar changed the dire finale of the first "Planet of the Apes" and turned it into a much more inspirational epic.
After Tim Burton's action-packed but ultimately soulless 2001 remake, "Planet of the Apes," directors Rupert Wyatt and Matt Reeves crafted a rousing, wondrous trilogy that culminated in 2017's epic "War for the Planet of the Apes." By focusing on the plight of the apes themselves as they began to evolve, "Rise," "Dawn," and "War" managed to tap into the real reason why we humans are so attracted to this franchise. Deep down, we want the apes to win.
In a daring but commercially viable move, 20th Century Studios is opting to make more stories inside the existing "Apes" continuity by jumping forward in time with "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes." From the looks of it so far, the latest installment appears to have all the elements in place to honor what's come before. Here's everything we know so far about the next adventure into the post-apocalyptic lives of our favorite high-functioning simian friends.
When does Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes premiere?
Looking at the release date window for "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes," it's clear that Disney has a great deal of confidence in continuing the saga after the House of Mouse acquired 20th Century Fox back in April of 2019. As it stands now, "Kingdom" is set to premiere in theaters May 24, 2024 on the highly coveted Memorial Day weekend slot.
The next generation of apes don't appear to be scared off or intimidated by the prospect of going to battle with three other high-profile films that could all turn out to be one of next year's major blockbusters. First, there's the Ryan Reynolds comedy fantasy adventure "If," directed by John Krasinski, followed by a new animated "Garfield" movie starring Chris Pratt, a man that has proved to be box office gold (especially when he appears in cartoon form).
The real competition for "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" is most likely going to be "Furiosa," the highly anticipated prequel to George Miller's Oscar-winning stunt wire act "Mad Max: Fury Road" starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth. Unfortunately, this match-up may be the closest we're ever going to get to a "Mad Max" and "Planet of the Apes" crossover.
Now that the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are officially a thing of the past, it's a lot more likely that "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" will stay with its current date, which should still give the extremely talented VFX artists plenty of time to make every frame as photorealistic as possible.
What are the plot details of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes?
Set years after the so-called "Caesar Trilogy" starring Andy Serkis, "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" has the advantage of working as a continuation of that storyline while also functioning as somewhat of a reboot where another vision can be brought to life. For a few clues about where and when the new story takes place, check out the official synopsis:
Director Wes Ball breathes new life into the global, epic franchise 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 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.
Taking over the reins from Serkis, the main character of "Kingdom" will be the ape Noa, played by Owen Teague. With humans no longer operating as a viable threat to ape life and culture, it appears as though Noa will have to embark on an adventure of his own to combat the nefarious plans of the film's central villain who may be searching for a long-lost form of technology that could pose an existential threat to all remaining life on the planet.
Who is in the cast of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes?
Look! People are still alive! Honestly, it seems like a casting director's dream to be able to seek out actors who will eventually be transformed into living, breathing super-apes through the pixelated miracle of motion capture technology. That doesn't mean that the human characters in "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" will be an afterthought, though.
Best known for her role Ciri in "The Witcher," actress Freya Allan will be playing the role of Mae. It's more than likely that she won't spend all her time cowering in fields of tall grass avoiding capture. Given the significant time jump, none of the human characters from the previous films should appear.
Of course, the main focus will be on Owen Teague's performance as Noa (no, it's not Cornelius!) and his confrontation with the opportunistic Proximus Caesar, played by Kevin Durand ("The Strain"). In an obvious nod to Dr. Zaius from the original series, a wise orangutan called Raka will be voiced by actor Peter Macon ("The Orville").
In undisclosed roles, performers Dichen Lachman ("Severance"), Eka Darville ("Jessica Jones"), Travis Jeffrey ("Unbroken"), Neil Sandilands ("Sweet Tooth"), Ras-Samuel Welda'abzgi ("The Clearing"), and Lydia Peckham ("Cowboy Bebop") will also be appearing.
The most interesting addition is undoubtedly that of William H. Macy, who should prove to have a significant part in the storyline and may help sway the balance of power among the apes.
Who is the director of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes?
Now that director Matt Reeves has moved on to create his own, much darker interpretation of the world's greatest detective with "The Batman" and its upcoming sequel, filmmaker Wes Ball has stepped in to put his own stamp on the "Apes" legacy. Previously, Ball proved he was up to the task of delivering spectacle on a grand scale after helming the "The Maze Runner" trilogy for 20th Century Studios. In handing over the keys to one of the studio's most prized IP, it's clear the powers that be have plenty of confidence in Ball as a visionary artist.
Ball is bringing along his previous collaborators from "The Maze Runner" trilogy including cinematographer Gyula Pados, composer John Paesano and editor Dan Zimmerman. The screenwriters for "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" also have a proven track record with similar material, with "Avatar: The Way of Water" scribes Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver and Josh Friedman on board along with "Prey" screenwriter Patrick Aison. Jaffa and Silver also worked on all three of the previous "Planet of the Apes" films, which could be an indication that there will be aspects from the "Caesar trilogy" that may be incorporated in "Kingdom."
Ball has also just been tapped to direct a live-action version of "The Legend of Zelda" based on the wildly popular video game franchise.
Has Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes released a trailer?
Just when you thought "Planet of the Apes" was a thing of the past, the eye-popping first trailer for "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" burst online, proving that there is still plenty of story and splendor to mine from this material. It's incredible to think that the kernel for what has become a blockbuster franchise all started with author Pierre Boulle's 1963 book "La Planète des singes."
The first footage promises a rousing emotional epic that retains the intimacy and heartfelt attention to detail from Matt Reeves' last two entries, while still providing an entirely different post-apocalyptic locale. Any sign of human civilization has been taken over by the surrounding forests and jungles after years and years where the natural world has slowly transformed our old way of life into an ape utopia.
The stark imagery is eerily beautiful, introducing an entirely new landscape where Earth as we know it is gone forever. Another important aspect of the trailer shows moments of connection between human and apes where they are clearly working together and helping each other.
Judging from the trailer, "Kingdom" is slowly inching towards the timeline first seen in the 1968 original, while also teasing a central mystery that could incorporate outer space and a high-tech underground compound that pays direct homage to the 1970 sequel, "Beneath the Planet of the Apes."
For more info on the trailer, be sure and read /Film's meticulous breakdown of the footage.
What to watch before seeing Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Regardless of how you personally rank all of the "Planet of the Apes" movies, "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" is definitely the weirdest entry, all said and done. Famously, Charlton Heston didn't want to appear in the sequel and his character is noticeably absent for most of the running time.
In his place, a bizarre underground cult is introduced that would probably worship J. Robert Oppenheimer if they existed in the same universe. Proving that religion and war should never mix, "Beneath" literally works on multiple levels. The upside down world introduced in 1968's "Planet of the Apes" is only what happens on the surface. Underneath that madness, a darker threat looms depicting a group of religious zealots praying to an atomic bomb. Not only is "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" the strangest sequel at of all the films, it's also arguably the most depressing.
After what was teased in the trailer for "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes," expect to find even more references to "Beneath" that will, hopefully, lead to an outcome that's a little more optimistic. For that reason alone, "Beneath" is a must watch before checking out buying your ticket for Memorial Day weekend.
An honorable mention definitely has to go to the short-lived 1975 animated series "Return to the Planet of the Apes" from the creators of "Pink Panther."
Where to watch all of the Planet of the Apes movies
Thankfully, the entire "Planet of the Ape" franchise is available to stream on HBO Max. It's certainly not a requirement to watch every single sequel, but now you have the perfect excuse to catch up on the entirety of "Apes" lore from its heady sci-fi peaks to its convoluted, melodramatic lows.
Honestly it's still something of a miracle that there is even one sequel to the original "Planet of the Apes" after its nearly perfect ending, let alone four. No matter what, it's probably a good idea to revisit the "Caesar trilogy" before watching "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" just to watch Andy Serkis get robbed of an Honorary Oscar for performance capture acting all over again.
Sadly, all thirteen episodes of NBC's "Return to the Planet of the Apes" are currently not available to stream at the moment. For more of a deep dive on each sequel to help you decide which ones to binge and which ones to skip, check out /Film's handy guide here.