Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes Subtly Debunked A Major Returning Character Theory

One major theory regarding a returning character in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes had been making the rounds before the film’s marketing campaign kicked off, but the first trailer for the movie subtly debunked this idea. Although Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a continuation of Matt Reeves’ beloved Planet of the Apes trilogy, it has some major differences from the first three movies, with most of the film’s main characters being completely different. Although it may have seemed like Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was bringing back one classic Planet of the Apes character, it turns out that this isn’t actually the case.

The first trailer for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is finally here, giving viewers their first look at the highly-anticipated fourth film in the Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy. War for the Planet of the Apes left the franchise’s world in an incredibly dark place, with the apes having essentially taken over the entire planet and the humans being turned into feral beasts by an advanced form of the Simian Flu. This dark storyline has led the franchise to have very few human characters, and while it was initially believed that one would be returning, the first trailer has debunked this idea.

Nova Was Theorized To Return In Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes

Although there wasn’t much evidence to support it, it was initially theorized that Nova would return in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Nova is a character that was first introduced in 2018’s War for the Planet of the Apes, with her being a young mute girl that tags along with Caesar and his crew as they journey to the ape oasis, dragging her into the middle of another conflict with the humans. Nova and the apes eventually reach the oasis, with War for the Planet of the Apes ending with Nova living alongside Caesar’s son.

Due to War for the Planet of the Apes‘ ending, it was assumed that Nova would return in the next film. Nova seems to be the one human that would live alongside the apes in peace, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see her back in a future film. Nova plays a much bigger role in the franchise’s story than War for the Planet of the Apes lets on, with her being George Taylor’s love interest in the original Planet of the Apes movie. Since the Matt Reeves series seemed to act as an original movie prequel, it was presumed that Nova would continue to live among the apes.

Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes’ Setting Makes Nova’s Appearance More Difficult

Although War for the Planet of the Apes set the stage for Nova to return in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the upcoming film’s new setting makes Nova’s appearance far more difficult and unlikely. The film branches off from the oasis seen in War for the Planet of the Apes, with the oasis acting as the birthing place of tons of new ape civilizations. The new ape civilizations have spread out in the time since Caesar, meaning that there is no telling where Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is set. Thus, having Nova appear in the film could seem like too much of a coincidence.

The physical location of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes makes Nova’s appearance hard enough, but the time period makes things even worse. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes takes place generations after War for the Planet of the Apes, even though an exact Planet of the Apes timeline hasn’t been specified. Due to the time jump between films, Nova has probably died off since the events of War for the Planet of the Apes, especially due to human life expectancy undoubtedly decreasing dramatically due to the collapse of human civilization.

Freya Allan Is Not Nova In Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes

Although it was hoped that Nova would return, Freya Allan’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes character doesn’t seem to be her. Allan’s character can be seen in the film’s first trailer, and it simply doesn’t look like a grown-up Nova. As it turns out, Allan will be playing Mae, a feral human who decides to help the ape Noa on his journey. So, while Mae might be a similar character to Nova, the two aren’t the same, with Nova presumably not returning for the events of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.