2017’s “War for the Planet of the Apes” ended the recent trilogy of ‘Apes’ movies with the death of its main protagonist Caesar and the legacy he leaves behind. The intelligent apes have found a new home in a fertile valley whilst humanity has either died or is de-evolving to a primitive state by the mutated simian virus.
We’re also still nearly two millennia away from the events of the original 60s-era “Planet of the Apes” film, which takes place in the mid-40th century. Thus there’s plenty of room for the franchise to explore, which seems to be one reason why the upcoming “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” will continue the narrative and serve as a follow-up to ‘War’.
With filming in Australia having around two weeks to go, the movie’s writers Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa recently spoke with Filmspeak regarding where the new entry fits in the greater story.
The pair wrote the first two films in the recent ‘Apes’ trilogy, with director Matt Reeves and Mark Bomback taking over scripting duties on ‘War’. Jaffa says that despite Caesar’s death:
“There’s just a lot of story left to tell… Caesar created something and left a legacy. So then the questions are: what happens with that? What becomes of his legacy?”
We do know the new film will see a time jump and take place many years after the events of ‘War’, but it’s not clear if it’s years, decades or centuries later. Caesar’s influence will still be felt among the apes, but Jaffa confirms they’re still some way off from the time period of the original ‘Apes’ movie, and there’s good reason:
“Do we want to rush toward an ending [the beginning of the original Planet of the Apes], or do we want to find an interesting story to tell with interesting characters?”
They, and writer Josh Friedman who joined them on this entry, had a “lot of ideas” and ended up coming up with something they are “really excited about” and could end up kicking off a whole new set of films – even though ‘Kingdom’ is designed to stand on its own:
“It’s one of those things where it starts with a germ of an idea, but if it’s got fertile ground, it can really grow”
Wes Ball (“The Maze Runner”) helms “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” which is coming to theaters on May 24th 2024. Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Peter Macon, Kevin Durand, Eka Darville, Travis Jeffery, Neil Sandilands and William H. Macy co-star.
