Any concerns about Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ continuation of the long-running franchise after the last movie’s perfect ending have been squashed before the new film has even come out. Set at a time when apes have fully taken over the world and the remnants of human civilization have devolved to a feral state, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes revolves around a common chimpanzee named Noa fighting back against the oppressive rule of an ape dictator named Proximus Caesar. Proximus Caesar has twisted Caesar’s teachings to suit his own Machiavellian vision of an ape-dominated world.
From a business perspective, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes serves as a reboot of the franchise, hoping to launch a new trilogy to keep the series going. But from a story perspective, it’s a continuation. It’s not starting from scratch like Rise of the Planet of the Apes did over a decade ago. Kingdom will continue the story that began with Caesar’s uprising. But any worries that the new movie might undo the legacy of that trilogy or ruin its perfect ending have already been put to rest by Kingdom’s storytelling decisions and its exciting marketing campaign.
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes Timeline Means It Won’t Hurt War’s Ending
When Disney announced that its first Planet of the Apes movie since acquiring 21st Century Fox would be a sequel to War for the Planet of the Apes, there were some concerns that the Mouse House would run the franchise into the ground. War for the Planet of the Apes was a perfect ending for Caesar’s journey, and for the prequel storyline that this Planet of the Apes trilogy had forged in the backdrop of the original saga. It ended with Caesar saving the apes he could save and leading them to an oasis, where they established a new civilization.
By making a sequel to that movie, Disney risked ruining that ending and dragging Caesar’s story out for longer than it needed to. But Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is set nearly 300 years after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes, so it’s not a true sequel. It’ll feature all new characters and kickstart a new Planet of the Apes story for a new trilogy to tackle. In retrospect, that was a really smart choice on the studio’s part. Now, there’s no risk of Kingdom hurting War’s ending or undoing the finality of it.
Wes Ball Looks To Have Done An Amazing Job With Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes
The last two Planet of the Apes movies were directed by Matt Reeves, who brought the series to new heights of excellence with a powerful sense of brutal, gritty realism. Now, Reeves is busy with a different franchise, cooking up the sequels to his Dark Knight epic The Batman, so he’s not in the director’s chair for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. This was another cause for concern, because a replacement director might not be able to manage the balance of sci-fi spectacle and existentialist commentary as well as Reeves.
But those concerns have been squashed, too. Reeves has been replaced by Wes Ball, the director of the Maze Runner trilogy. Based on the trailers, Ball has done an amazing job with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. All the visuals revealed in the marketing campaign have been immersive and breathtaking. Ball seems to have the same visionary sensibility as Reeves, and his own idiosyncratic take on the dystopian future of the Planet of the Apes franchise. It won’t be the same as Reeves’ movies, but it could be just as great.
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes Is Striking The Right Balance With The Original & Reboot Movies
Based on the images and story details released so far, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes seems to have struck the perfect balance between honoring the original series and staying in line with the tonal shifts and plot developments of the reboot trilogy. It’s building on the storylines from the prequel trilogy and Caesar’s legacy looms large over the new characters (his name has even been adopted by the new villain). But, at the same time, there are clear hints that this movie is heading towards the O.G. timeline.
It seems as though Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has been designed as a stepping stone between the prequel trilogy and a reimagining of the original story. It follows on from the former while building to the latter. It’s continuing the conflict between the apes and the surviving humans from the prequel trilogy, but it’s only a matter of time before astronauts show up and mistake ape-dominated Earth for an alien planet.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
- Director
- Wes Ball
- Cast
- Kevin Durand , Freya Allan , Peter Macon , Owen Teague , Eka Darville , Sara Wiseman , Neil Sandilands
