Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes!

A sequel to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is on the way, and here are 10 franchise storylines that can be explored in the upcoming sequel. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a continuation of the modern Planet of the Apes series, building off of the ending of War for the Planet of the Apes, but it is also the start of a new trilogy of its own. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes sets a lot of stories in motion for the new sci-fi trilogy, including these 10 classic franchise storylines.

The Planet of the Apes movie series has been going for decades now, with all kinds of stories being told through the lens of a world being run by apes. However, the franchise was reset with Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes being a revival of this modern trilogy, a lot of iconic storylines haven’t been explored in decades. Luckily, the new Planet of the Apes trilogy has plenty of time to delve into some of these Planet of the Apes stories, including these 10.

10

The Underground Human Civilization

Beneath The Planet Of The Apes

One of the most important Planet of the Apes storylines from the classic films is a human civilization that lives underground, within the remains of subway stations and other underground facilities. Beneath the Planet of the Apes introduced the idea that a civilization of mutated humans are living under the ground, and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes could build off of this.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ends with Mae bringing a communication device to the entrance of what seems to be a system of underground vaults. As is revealed, a society of fairly normal humans lives in these vaults, and they end up being able to contact other humans. This implies that humans may be living beneath the planet of the apes all across the globe, and while these humans aren’t mutants, it could be explored further in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 2.

9

Planet Of The Apes’ Telepathic Mutants

Beneath The Planet Of The Apes

Building off of the previous storyline, Beneath the Planet of the Apes‘ underground society of humans aren’t just humans. In fact, they are the descendants of humans, with them actually being telepathic mutants. These telepathic mutants become foes of the apes throughout the rest of the franchise, which is why they need to return in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 2.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes already introduced the Echo, which is the name that Noa’s tribe gives the descendants of humans. However, these Echo aren’t quite mutated, and they definitely don’t have psychic abilities. It may be hard to fit mutated humans into Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 2 due to the apocalypse being caused by disease rather than nuclear warfare, but the writers could make it work if they wanted to.

8

The TRUE Forbidden Zone

Planet Of The Apes

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes does reference the Forbidden Zone from the original series, with an area occupied by a rival tribe of apes being referred to as forbidden. However, a proper Forbidden Zone hasn’t yet been seen in the modern series. In the original series, the Forbidden Zone was a radioactive wasteland that no ape or man could enter, whereas the 2001 Planet of the Apes remake changed the Forbidden Zone to be the remains of a crashed space station.

So, while the Forbidden Zone has changed meanings in the past, it always has to do with the remains of human civilization. Because of this, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 2 needs to introduce a true Forbidden Zone that consists of a crashed ship or a nuclear facility, highlighting the danger of the area.

7

George Taylor & The Astronauts

Planet Of The Apes

One of the biggest Planet of the Apes theories has to do with if George Taylor and the other astronauts will ever return in the modern series, and they very well could in a Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes sequel. George Taylor and his astronaut coworkers are the main characters of the original Planet of the Apes movie, with them crashing on a future Earth and believing it to be an alien planet run by apes.

Despite their importance to the franchise, George Taylor hasn’t appeared in the modern series at all, with a brief reference to his ship in Rise of the Planet of the Apes being his only impact so far. However, it has been theorized that George Taylor appears in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes‘ ending, with him potentially being the person that the humans talk to at the end of the film.

6

Dr. Zaius’ Ape Religion

Planet Of The Apes

Dr. Zaius is one of the main antagonists of the Planet of the Ape franchise, which is why it is so surprising that he hasn’t turned up in the modern movies at all. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes introduced other ape figures that were the heads of their own religions and worldviews, but no character named Dr. Zaius has appeared yet, with him being one of the biggest missing pieces in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.

However, since Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes seems to set up a vast array of ape societies that could be explored in the new trilogy, it is entirely possible that Zaius could appear in a future film. Highlighting Zaius’ own ape religion and how he uses it to uphole society is perfect for the franchise’s social commentary, meaning that he needs to come back.

5

The Apes Travel Through Time

Escape From The Planet Of The Apes

Time travel becomes a surprisingly big staple of the Planet of the Apes franchise in later films, with it being essential to some of the series’ most important stories. Escape from the Planet of the Apes sees some of the apes use time travel to go back in time to Earth in the 1970s, with this plot device becoming increasingly more important as time goes on. The 2001 Planet of the Apes reboot even heavily uses time travel, signaling its continued importance.

The time travel in Planet of the Apes is created through time rifts in space. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes highlights the apes’ desires to reach the stars, and if they ever do, they very well might run into some time rifts. This means that there is potential for time travel in the new trilogy, continuing these classic storylines.

4

Evolved Apes Interacting With Modern Human Civilization

Escape From The Planet Of The Apes

Escape from the Planet of the Apes contains one of the franchise’s most unique stories, as it uses time travel to show evolved apes interacting with modern human civilization. In the film, a handful of apes goes back to 1970s Earth, allowing them to interact with humans before the apocalypse that led to the creation of the planet of the apes.

If time travel is indeed introduced in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 2 or another future sequel, then it is possible that Noa and the rest of the gang could go back in time and see how humanity once was. Since Noa is so interested in humans, this would be perfect for his character arc, and it would also allow the new Planet of the Apes trilogy to reintroduce Caesar if it wants to.

3

The Order Of Koba

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes spends a lot of time focusing on the legacy of Caesar, even explaining that a group of apes have established something named the Order of Caesar in the centuries since his passing. However, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes fails to acknowledge one of the most important apes in Caesar’s story: Koba.

Koba is the main ape antagonist of the modern Planet of the Apes movies, with him being a dark reflection of Caesar. Since most of Caesar’s legend has been passed down, it is weird that Koba hasn’t. However, it could be that a future Planet of the Apes movie explains that a tribe of apes walks in the way of Koba, agreeing with his philosophy in violence against the humans rather than Caesar’s more peaceful one.

2

A Society Of Equal Humans & Apes

Battle For The Planet Of The Apes

The original Planet of the Apes movies end of a surprisingly positive note, with the series concluding with a look at a version of Earth where apes and humans live side-by-side as equals. This seems to be what some of the apes and humans are advocating for in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, meaning that it could happen in a future sequel.

The ways in which this world works are barely explored in the original movies, with it only being established that war wages on despite the new status quo. A future Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes film could further explore this war to protect the coexistence of humans and apes, with this being an interesting new direction to take the franchise in.

1

The Total Destruction Of Earth

Beneath The Planet Of The Apes

If the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes saga decides not to go with the good ending of human and ape coexistence, it could also go with the bad ending: the total destruction of Earth. Beneath the Planet of the Apes surprisingly ends with George Taylor blowing up Earth, putting an end to the titular planet. Although time travel lets the Earth live on, Beneath the Planet of the Apes ends with the end of the world.

While the total destruction of Earth may seem a bit outlandish for the serious tone of the modern Planet of the Apes movies, that can be said for talking apes as well, meaning that there is a way to make it work. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes may not be setting up the total destruction of Earth quite yet, but it is always a possibility based on the franchise’s past.