Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the highly anticipated new entry in the beloved Planet of the Apes franchise, but is it a direct sequel to the existing movies or is it a complete reboot starting from scratch? Disney has been eager to relaunch the Planet of the Apes franchise since it attained the property in its acquisition of 21st Century Fox. The last run of Apes movies ended in 2017 with War for the Planet of the Apes, which saw Caesar establishing a peaceful ape community in the wilderness.
The new Planet of the Apes film is directed by Wes Ball, best known for helming the Maze Runner franchise, from a script by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, the writing duo who worked on the previous Apes trilogy, along with Josh Friedman, who worked with Jaffa and Silver on Avatar: The Way of Water, and Patrick Aison. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ teaser trailer has finally been released ahead of its release date on May 24, 2024. But is it a total reboot of the franchise or does it follow on from the previous films?
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes Is A Sequel To War For The Planet Of The Apes
The New Planet Of The Apes Movie Is Set Many Years Later, With New Characters
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is set many years after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes and features a whole new cast of characters. But, crucially, it does take place within the same continuity as the previous Apes trilogy. It takes place in the safe haven that Caesar established for the apes in the last movie, with several different ape clans all vying for power. Owen Teague leads the cast of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes in the role of Cornelius, Caesar’s chimpanzee son.
By the time Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes picks up, the surviving humans have regressed to a feral state, so the apes are more articulate than the people. One of the ape clans is determined to prevent new generations of apes from learning of Caesar’s utopian philosophies so that they can be enslaved. Whereas the past three Apes movies have focused on the conflict between the apes and the humans, this one will focus on the conflict between apes and other apes.
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes Is Part Of A Reboot Of The Original Movies
Could The Movie Still Connect To The Original Planet Of The Apes?
It’s possible that Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes could eventually connect to the original run of Planet of the Apes movies that took place in the distant future when apes had fully taken over Earth and humanity had been wiped out completely. Rise of the Planet of the Apes rebooted the franchise with a new present-day backstory, but there’s a long time between the reboot franchise and when the original movies took place. So, while they are separate, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and its sequels could begin to shift into something more closely resembling the original series – especially if time travel is involved.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
- Release Date
- May 24, 2024
- Director
- Wes Ball
- Cast
- Kevin Durand, Freya Allan, Peter Macon, Owen Teague, Eka Darville, Sara Wiseman, Neil Sandilands
