Director Matt Reeves may have moved onto The Batman but, much like the franchise's former lead Caesar, the new film set to be released in the Planet of the Apes franchise, titled Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, is set to build off the legacy Reeves and his principal character established in War of the Planet of the Apes. Set years after the events of the 2017 film, many ape clans have emerged in the oasis where Caesar (formerly played by Andy Serkis) led his fellow hominids to, while humans have regressed into a feral state. One ape leader enslaves other clans in search of human technology, while another ape "embarks on a journey to find freedom". The new film will see Caesar's surviving son Cornelius (Owen Teague) as the new focus although it hasn't been confirmed if he is for or against the enslavement of humans, a question that if answered might give insight into the overall tone of the upcoming film.
In essence, while the previous film left on the note of the apes finding peace away from humans, this new film will grasp with the way great leaders are turned into martyrs posthumously. How there ideologies are twisted to serve the interests of radical groups. Some might find this film a little TOO close to how politics function in real-life but without a doubt, it adds to the relevance of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. A film that has officially wrapped filming with new director Wes Ball (known for helming the Maze Runner trilogy) posting a goofy video that displays some of the motion-capture actors and how the on-the-go tech works to see how filmmakers can pre-vis such a heavy CGI-reliant project. Check it out below:
For those a little anxious about a new director at the helm, it should be noted that the married writing team Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver have returned to co-write the script alongside Josh Friedman (who wrote 2005's War of the Worlds). Jaffa and Silver were the writers behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) while they only served as producers on the last film. They are part of the writers' room that James Cameron selected to help him write the four Avatar sequels where they first worked with Friedman. In short, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has an important continuity of creative forces from the it's acclaimed predecessors which hopefully alleviates worries this new film will break from the quality of previous films. We'll find out when the film hits on May 24th, 2024.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes co-stars Freya Allan, Peter Macon, Eka Darville, and Kevin Durand.
Starring Will and Jada Smith?
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