Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes Trailer Breakdown: Those Darned Apes Are Back And Dirtier Than Ever
Rejoice, "Apes" fans! Few would've ever thought that the new "Planet of the Apes" movies could possibly come close to the highs of the original series of films. Well, 2017's epic "War for the Planet of the Apes" brought the trilogy to a stirring end, closing the book on the ape leader Caesar's story (brought to life magnificently by Andy Serkis and countless VFX artists) and leaving fans to wonder if 20th Century Studios would dare to make more stories set within this same continuity ... or simply reboot it all over again, wiping the slate clean and giving themselves full rein to do whatever they want next. Now we know, courtesy of the new trailer and synopsis for "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes." In fact, just check out the synopsis below:
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.
Have we looped all the way back around to the futuristic timeline of the 1968 original? If not, the host of new details layered throughout the post-apocalyptic world teased in this footage makes it seem very close to catching up. It's a rare thing for a franchise trailer to whip fans of the original property into a frenzy right alongside newcomers, but that sure feels like the case here. Let's dive right into our "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" trailer breakdown.
Apes (and falcons) together strong
"When I sleep, I see strange things ... Not memories, new things. I see everything."
The footage begins with an intriguing voiceover by (presumably) our new main character, the ape Noa, played by Owen Teague. As the trailer opens on a spectacular wilderness setting teeming with jungles, rivers, and decrepit buildings completely overgrown by foliage, it's clear that quite a bit of time has passed since we last saw Caesar lead his contingent of apes to the promised land.
Now, the highly evolved apes have fully become the dominant species of the planet and, based on his dialogue, our new protagonist is clearly feeling the weight of destiny on his shoulders. It's not clear what exactly he means by those mysterious remarks — visions of the future, or something else entirely? But that's a question for another day, because just look at the gorgeous visuals of this new ape on horseback who appears to be a falconer. Is it too much to ask for an entire movie about nothing more than just this young ape and his falcon pet? Probably, but it's a fantastic starting point to begin the trailer on.
Dr. Zaius called, he wants his outfit back
Oh, so we're this far in the future, huh? Apes are clothed and talking fluently like ordinary humans, the character designs are now directly evoking that of the original "Planet of the Apes," and there's even a neat reference to Caesar's lasting influence — all in just one image!
When we see the orangutan that Noa has been talking to, it's startling to realize just how closely he resembles the infamous Dr. Zaius, down to the haircut, beard, and even the fabric draped around his shoulders. It's almost certainly not the exact same character, because he's named Raka. The voice is that of actor Peter Macon, known for "The Orville" and a recent voice acting stint on "Family Guy." Oh, and you see that pendant, right? It's the exact same iconography as Caesar's window from the previous movies, which turned into a sort of symbol for freedom and rebellion once the apes escaped from San Francisco at the end of "Rise." We love organic callbacks and fascinating expansions on world-building, don't we folks?
A forgotten world
Did anyone else obsessively watch all those "Life After People" specials on the History Channel that painstakingly explored what Earth would like if humanity inexplicably vanished and the natural world slowly reclaimed what once belonged to itself ... or are you normal? While the previous "Planet of the Apes" movies (especially the latter two directed by Matt Reeves) took early steps towards showing all of our mighty cities falling into ruin and disrepair, that was nothing compared to the extent of what we see in this early shot in the trailer. Teague's ape casually strolls into what's left of a major metropolis, though having it completely overgrown by green makes it all but impossible to tell where on Earth this actually is. Consider this the moment where "Kingdom" throws down the gauntlet and makes it abundantly clear that we're in whole new territory for these movies, bringing the status quo nearer and nearer to that of the original — and of a certain History Channel series that indulged my post-apocalyptic interests.
Blue eyes
Okay, maybe I spoke a little too soon. The most arresting moment of the trailer arrives with a smash cut to a bunch of hapless humans, dressed in fur, running away from a band of apes on horses. This should be a familiar scenario to anyone who remembers the very similar one in the first "Planet of the Apes," when Charlton Heston's stranded astronaut George Taylor witnesses the exact same scene unfolding right in front of him from a distance. It's our first look at how far humanity has devolved by the events of "Kingdom," perhaps spurred on by the debilitating virus that mutated among non-ape populations in "War." The sheer rage on the face of one of the apes also feels like an eerie echo of Koba, the villain of "Dawn" who haunts Caesar all throughout "War."
We also get our introduction to Mae, played by Freya Allan. Her noticeably piercing eyes can't help but call to mind ol' Blue Eyes, Caesar's son who tragically died and provided the impetus for Caesar's fall to the dark side in the previous movie. The laws of blockbuster convention tell us that this small human and Owen Teague's ape are probably bound to cross paths, which is what seems to happen later on when our two main apes huddled by a fire kindly throw fruit at desperate humans. I'm sure these friendly relations won't cause any amount of trouble, no sir.
Trouble in paradise
Remember my sarcastic quip above? It sure looks like good intentions have come home to roost in the worst way possible. We get flashes of extreme ape-on-ape violence breaking out, probably instigated by the "tyrannical" leader alluded to in the official synopsis. The nighttime setting makes it difficult to tell if these simians are breaking the holiest of rules and actually killing their own kind or simply tasering them into submission with those fancy, electrical batons that we see several armored apes wielding. One fight in what appears to be an elevated house in the trees sure feels evocative of the various Koba/Caesar battles in "Dawn," so fingers crossed that director Wes Ball can channel the same kind of hard-hitting action that Reeves and his creative team effortlessly crafted.
Looking to the stars
The rapid-fire series of imagery that follows is all about emphasizing humans and apes working together. One literal cliffhanger moment features an ape carrying a young human on its back as it ascends a steep incline above crashing waves, while subsequent scenes take the action underground as a group of characters stumble upon some sort of high-tech compound — a setting that feels reminiscent of the underground society of humans in "Beneath the Planet of the Apes." It's doubtful we're already at the point of uncovering an arsenal of hidden nuclear weapons, but it's still fun to imagine that these new movies could eventually build up to that storyline. Fingers crossed an adaptation of those mutant, radiation-afflicted humans is in the offing, too.
But the real eyebrow-raiser arrives with a derelict observatory complete with a massive telescope, aimed towards the skies. Is this just a mood-setting moment of an ape appreciating the beauties of the heavens, or is this hinting towards the payoff of a certain space-related tease from "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"?
The beach that makes you ape
Look, if you can't forgive my awfully mangled "Old" reference above, I understand. For those that are still here, well, just look at that beach setting in the shot above, and tell me it doesn't remind you of that much more famous beach-related moment at the end of "Planet of the Apes." But instead of the Statue of Liberty, we get a rusty old ship that apes seem to have taken over as a stronghold. We've finally arrived at the hideout of the movie's big bad, the aforementioned ape leader who's been causing trouble.
If you look closely, you'll see a human and an ape have been taken captive between the apes on horseback, hinting that the tentative alliance between (I assume) Teague and Allen's characters doesn't exactly go as planned. At least they get to appreciate the undeniably awesome-looking concept of a beached ship inhabited by apes. If you're marching to imprisonment and/or certain death, you might as well enjoy the scenery!
Is this your king?
Meet King Ape, or rather Proximus Caesar (played by Kevin Durand), the much smarter and more formidable descendent of Steve Zahn's pathetic Bad Ape from "War for the Planet of the Apes." This is what we call a glow-up, folks. Okay, no, that's a complete and total lie. But what an unforgettable look! As if the crown and armor wasn't cool enough, his bellowing delivery of, "What a wonderful day!" feels like the perfect shot to end this trailer on. I for one wasn't expecting this movie to channel its inner "Mad Max: Fury Road," but I'm not complaining, either. I haven't the slightest idea who voices this new villain, admittedly, but I feel confident in proclaiming that he's already my favorite character of the entire movie.
One thing's for sure, though — the VFX here looks like it's hardly missed a step from the genuinely award-worthy work of the previous trilogy. And considering that this is merely the first trailer and CGI will surely continue to be finalized throughout post-production, we might be in for something special here.
"Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" hits theaters May 24, 2024.