Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was the start of an all-new Planet of the Apes trilogy, meaning that these 10 classic franchise characters could appear in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 2. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes carries on the story of the modern series while also bringing the Planet of the Apes lore closer to the original movies than ever before, setting up an exciting possibility for the future. Because of this, it’s been theorized that more classic characters could appear in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 2, like these 10.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is finally here, with the highly anticipated continuation of the beloved franchise now released. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes‘ timeline picks up around 300 years after the end of War for the Planet of the Apes, with the new ape protagonist Noa going on a quest to take down a clan of apes who worship Caesar. Although the film doesn’t feature any characters from the original Planet of the Apes movies, it sets a lot of them up to appear, so here are the most likely picks for the sequel.

10

George Taylor

Planet of the Apes

Of all of the classic Planet of the Apes characters who could appear in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 2, the most obvious one is George Taylor. George Taylor is the human protagonist of the original 1968 Planet of the Apes film, with him and his crew crash landing on what they assume to be an alien planet. Taylor becomes determined to escape the planet, only for him to realize that the planet of the apes is actually Earth in the distant future.

It has been speculated that the franchise’s main protagonist will appear in the modern movies for years now, but George Taylor’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 2 appearance seems more likely than ever. At the end of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, a band of humans makes contact with another group of unknown humans, and due to the Icarus tease from Rise of the Planet of the Apes, it has been theorized that they may have gotten in contact with George Taylor’s crew.

9

Cornelius

Planet of the Apes

After George Taylor blows up Earth in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, the ape scientist Cornelius becomes the main protagonist of the franchise, with him leading Escape from the Planet of the Apes. Having first appeared in the original film, Cornelius is one of the few apes that is sympathetic to George Taylor, with him wanting to see better treatment of the humans in the oppressive ape society.

Although it is possible that any ape could be named Cornelius, it seems likely that one in the same vein as his original incarnation could appear in the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes trilogy. Due to how fast ape society has evolved, it is entirely possible that ape scientists could exist. On top of that, Cornelius is the time-traveling father of Caesar, and since the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes seems to be setting up a remake of Escape from the Planet of the Apes, this storyline could happen.

8

Zira

Planet of the Apes

Alongside George Taylor and Cornelius, Zira is another one of the main protagonists of the original Planet of the Apes movies, with her having a growing role alongside Cornelius after George Taylor’s death. Zira was actually the first ape to be on George Taylor’s side, with her believing that he could communicate despite it going against ape doctrine.

Much like Cornelius, Zira’s role can be fulfilled by naming any ape scientist Zira, bringing back this classic Planet of the Apes character. One of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes‘ main themes had to do with ape and human coexistence, and since the movie has set up a battle for human rights, having apes like Zira who are sympathetic to the human cause would be perfect for the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes sequel.

7

John Landon

Planet of the Apes

George Taylor isn’t the only human to play a major role in the original Planet of the Apes movie, as the other crew member who lives the longest is named John Landon. Despite George Taylor and John Landon landing on the planet together, the duo becomes separated, with Taylor not finding Landon until much later. When they do reunite, Taylor discovers that Landon has been lobotomized, setting up a terrifying future for himself.

If George Taylor is indeed one of the humans at the end of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, then he isn’t alone, as other humans can be heard. So, it seems likely that John Landon is one of these other humans, setting up his grand return to the Planet of the Apes franchise. He could meet a fate just as dark as his original Planet of the Apes appearance, or Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 2 could put a spin on things, giving him a much bigger role.

6

Dr. Zaius

Planet of the Apes

While there has been lots of talk about the original Planet of the Apes protagonists returning to the modern series, it is also possible that the original Planet of the Apes antagonist could return: Dr. Zaius. Dr. Zaius is a lawmaker and religious zealot who upholds ape doctrine in the first movie, with him being opposed to Cornelius and Zira’s theory that apes evolved from humans, causing him to try and shut their expedition down by force.

Since Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes heavily focuses on ape fascism and the messianic traits that the apes have applied to Caesar, there is no more perfect time to bring back Dr. Zaius than in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 2. Dr. Zaius can be presented as another character who has taken Caesar’s words and twisted them, putting him at odds with Noa and his human sympathies.

5

Méndez XXVI

Beneath the Planet of the Apes

Méndez XXVI is less popular than Dr. Zaius, but he is known for being the main antagonist of Beneath the Planet of the Apes. In the film, Méndez is the leader of the underground society of humans who survived the nuclear war, although to disastrous effects. The humans who survived became mutants who gained psychic powers, with Méndez using his leadership in an attempt to take the world of apes down.

Although mutants weren’t introduced in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, some similar aspects were, such as the forbidden zone and a group of underground human survivors of the nuclear war. Thus, it is entirely possible that Méndez could be a fascistic member of this group of human survivors, removing his mutant aspect entirely. This would be a fun way to bring the villain back with a new twist, paying homage to the original sequel.

4

Governor Kolp

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes

Governor Kolp is an interesting Planet of the Apes antagonist, as his villainous role evolves throughout the franchise. Kolp originally starts out as a leader of humans, although he eventually becomes a governor of a group of mutants, with him being antagonistic toward the apes. Kolp’s main goal in the franchise is to destroy Ape City, with his vengeance against the apes being his main motivator.

Having Kolp start out as a member of the underground human society in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 2 could be perfect, allowing for his mutant transformation in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 3. Developing a human antagonist throughout the franchise alongside an ape antagonist would allow the series to explore both the good and the bad of apes as well as humans, making for a fun dynamic in the upcoming films.

3

General Aldo

Battle for the Planet of the Apes

General Aldo is another major ape antagonist in the original Planet of the Apes series, with him being one of the main antagonists in the final film, Battle for the Planet of the Apes. Although Aldo is on the side of the apes, his jealousy of Cornelius and Caesar leads to him becoming an authoritarian ruler of Ape City, with him exploiting the humans as well as the apes in order to enact his evil plan.

Proximus was the main villain of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, and although he seems to be dead at the end of the film, that doesn’t mean that the series is finished exploring authoritarian ape leaders. Having a massive gorilla general replace Proximus could up the level of threat even more, creating a unique ape antagonist for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 2.

2

General Thade

Planet of the Apes (2001)

Moving away from the original Planet of the Apes continuity, there is also one character who could return from Tim Burton’s 2001 reboot. General Thade is the main antagonist of Tim Burton’s 2001 Planet of the Apes remake, with him being a fascist ape leader who wants to exterminate all humans. By the end of the film, Thade manages to take over Earth, with the Lincoln Memorial famously being replaced with a statue of Thade.

In the 2001 remake, Thade is obsessed with using a spaceship to further his rule, something that Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes sets up. The film both explores ape villains who want to use human technology as well as hinting at the use of space travel in future movies, setting the stage for a villain like Thade to appear in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 2.

1

Caesar

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Although Caesar technically appeared in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes due to his corpse being seen, he can return in the flesh in one of the sequels in a big way. In Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Cornelius and Zira go back in time to 1970s Earth, and while they are there, they give birth to an ape named Milo. Milo is left behind, eventually taking the name of Caesar and overthrowing Earth.

In both continuities, Caesar’s story plays out almost entirely the same. Thus, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 2 could reveal that some apes did go back in time and give birth to Bright Eyes, who in turn gave birth to Caesar. This would be a fun way to tie everything together in a similar fashion to the original series, paying off some of the setups in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.