Let’s face it; streaming services are primarily the places that people go to for poorly-crafted background noise in the form of uninspired actioners, tepid erotic thrillers, or overly-commercialized rom-coms. It’s a sad reality, but a reality nonetheless. 232xc

But often enough, these readily-available film libraries are also the drop-zone for prominent blockbusters that are gearing up for a second life, and they’ll fight to death to earn that, even if Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman—the t kings of the box office at the moment thanks to Deadpool & Wolverine—are among the casualties.

Per FlixPatrol‘s scores for Aug. 7, the Jackman-led Van Helsing is no match for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire‘s explosive reign atop the worldwide Max film rankings. Reynolds, meanwhile, has failed to fend off one Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes with his pair of prior Deadpool movies, and the Wes Ball-directed continuation of one of the greatest modern sci-fi franchises has summited the Disney Plus worldwide film rankings as a result.

The Deadpool & Wolverine woes don’t end there, however, as Henry Cavill’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare has narrowly lost out to Dave Bautista’s My Spy: The Eternal City in the realm of Prime Video’s worldwide film rankings. Cavill, of course, cameoed as a Wolverine variant in the MCU money magnet, and if a great many comic book movie fans have their way, it won’t be the last we see of “Cavillrine.”

And even Sandy Cheeks of SpongeBob SquarePants fame got her licks in, with the Netflix original Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie dominating the streamer’s worldwide film charts, leaving Reynolds’ The Hitman’s Bodyguard in the dust at ninth place.

Indeed, the Deadpool & Wolverine talent may be set to cross a billion dollars at the box office this weekend, but on streaming, the day belongs to a pair of 2024’s most charming blockbusters, and two other movies who have yet to justify their existence outside of this little tango.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes may have released around the end of spring, but 2024 is, without a doubt, the summer of simians. Indeed, with business-as-usual positive reviews shoring it up as it rises, dawns on, and wages war upon the box office, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has shown us all what sort of tenacious legs this franchise is truly packing, even if those legs look more like arms to us.

Now, there’s a certain saying out there that goes against the idea of having too much of a good thing. Luckily, apes haven’t seemed to stumble upon such a notion in their languages yet, and we’re certainly not complaining; so long as Noa can keep serving the artistic justice that Caesar spearheaded in the 2010s, 20th Century Studios would be wise to keep these films coming.

So, are they?

Are there more Apes movies planned? 4s1v22

Not if the Apes brain trust has anything to say about it. According to a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa (who dreamed up the script for 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes and are therefore responsible for this heavyweight sci-fi canon), Kingdom was intended to kick off a brand new trilogy of films, just as Rise kicked off the “Caesar trilogy.” This is apparent within Kingdom itself as well, as the film’s ending very much sets the stage for future stories.

But even then, the duo revealed further in the interview that their intention was to go all the way to nine films comprised of three trilogies. Indeed, by the time this dream is (hopefully) realized, the apes may be taking over the real world by then.

Jokes aside, it’s an undeniably ambitious goal with many hurdles to potentially fall at, but the Apes films—beyond their penchant for the best possible combination of storytelling and spectacle—possess one tool that makes them stand out from other blockbuster franchises in of longevity potential; compartmentalization.

Kingdom is a standalone sequel to War, meaning that while the two films take place in the same universe, they boast little to no narrative ties (Caesar is mentioned frequently throughout Kingdom, but the film treats him as a mythological figure of sorts) with each other.

This allows all the films to exist together in the same cerebral space—in the sense of tackling such themes as racism, power, and the human condition— and within the textual logic of the same world, all without the burden of having to somehow improve upon a singular story; the Caesar trilogy worked because it told an epic, conclusive story, and the Noa trilogy will probably work for the same reasons, as will the standalone story of whichever ape takes center stage for film number seven, eight, and nine.

Indeed, when it comes to leading by example, you can hardly do any better than Apes. Take notes, Marvel, before the Multiverse Saga is entirely crushed beneath its own weight.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is now playing in theaters.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has swung into theaters as of last week, quite decisively proving that one of the greatest sci-fi film franchises of all time hasn’t even come close to losing its touch.

Indeed, it may have been no easy task to follow up on the Caesar trilogy (led by mo-cap maestro Andy Serkis in one of the most singular multi-film performances in recent memory), but with one Owen Teague having stepped up to the plate with pristine dramatic agility, it was only ever a matter of time before Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes sent the franchise forward with an intellectual mettle almost all its own.

Teague, of course, stepped into the metaphorical shoes of Noa, the protagonist of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, and also of what will soon become the next trilogy of Apes films within the canon dreamed up by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver back in 2011. So, what’s Noa’s deal?

Noa in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, explained 105s1a

Noa is a young chimpanzee living amongst a colony of apes who have mastered falconry, established three centuries after the death of Caesar. His home is destroyed by ape soldiers working under Proximus Caesar — the film’s villain — early on, and as the only ape of his clan who wasn’t captured, he sets off on a journey to free his people (including his mother Dar, best friend Anaya, and love interest Soona) and bring them home so that they can recover from the damage that Proximus’ troops inflicted.

The Apes reboot films have long been fascinating musings on the human condition and how we relate to each other, and, along with the fact that Kingdom is no exception to this, Noa makes for an excellent protagonist with respect to these themes. Without giving too much away, Noa differs greatly from Caesar as a protagonist because Noa is very much a naive outsider when it comes to human-ape relations, whereas Caesar more-or-less invented them, to say nothing of the fact that Caesar was the first of these hyper-intelligent apes to ever live.

Through Caesar, then, we audiences navigated such ideas as prejudice, racism, and revenge from a place of simultaneous privilege, hubris, and vulnerability, given Caesar’s place as the leader of the apes. Through the adolescent Noa, however, we explore these ideas (along with the question of what “better” looks like, in Kingdom‘s case) through the eyes of someone who’s just another ape in this ape society; in this way, Kingdom‘s identity is unpacked from a place of discovery of both the wider world, and the place that one might carve for themselves in it.

That, dear readers, is one long-winded way of saying that Apes is an absolutely tremendous film franchise, and we should all be waiting with stark anticipation for an update on Noa’s next adventure.

Warning: The following article contains minor spoilers for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the newest chapter in 20th Century Studios’ successful reboot of the Planet of the Apes film franchise. But since Caesar (Andy Serkis) is not the protagonist of the new movie, will the new trilogy follow his son?

The Planet of the Apes trilogy, which began with 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, follows Caesar as he becomes one of the first superintelligent apes. The trilogy explores Caesar’s life as he teaches other apes how to communicate and work together, building a home for them on the planet. Simultaneously, a virus decimates the planet’s population, kicking off a war for survival between humans and apes. Cornelius, Caesar’s son, is born in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and is two in War of the Planet of the Apes, so he’s not a big part of those movies.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is set 300 years after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes. Surprisingly, the new movie starts with a brief scene of Caesar’s funeral. The scene features some of the apes who fought by Caesar’s side during the early days of their primate society. It also gives us a glimpse at Cornelius, Caesar’s son. Nevertheless, after this quick scene, we are taken to the future to meet a new cast of characters, and Cornelius is naturally nowhere to be seen. But could one of the new characters on Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes be Caesar’s descendent?

Who is Caesar’s descendant in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes? v226j

While Caesar and his son are primarily absent from Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the whole movie revolves around the teachings of the chimpanzee leader. The new film introduces us to Noa (Owen Teague), a chimpanzee hunter who crosses paths with Raka (Peter Macon), an orangutan part of a fading tribe dedicated to spreading Caesar’s words of wisdom. Through Raka, Noa learns how Caeser wished for peaceful coexistence with humans and that he fought for all ape-kind’s freedom. Because of that, Noa becomes a spiritual successor to Caesar, even if there’s no confirmed bloodline connection between the two.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes also explores the dangers of twisting Caesar’s motto, which claims that apes are stronger together. The movie’s villain, Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), has taken the old chimpanzee’s name and teachings and turned it into a propaganda machine to subdue other apes and explore humans in his quest for power.

It’s interesting how Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes shows two opposing ideologies derived from the same source. If the movie kicks off a new trilogy, it’ll be interesting to see how these themes evolve.

This article contains spoilers for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

When Wes Ball was preparing to carry forward a franchise as critically and commercially successful as the rebooted Planet of the Apes canon, he must have known that it would be no easy task to follow in the footsteps of the Caesar trilogy. How appropriate, then, that Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has chosen to not march in anyone’s footsteps but its own.

Indeed, with Owen Teague leading the charge as protagonist Noa, Ball and company have something special on their hands, and seeing where this new Apes trilogy will go from here should be one of the most exciting developments that the pop culture zeitgeist will bear witness to over these next couple of years.

And Kingdom was all too happy to tee us up for a glance at what lies ahead, as its closing moments suggest a particularly daunting rematch that the world hasn’t seen for a few centuries (Kingdom takes place 300 years after War for the Planet of the Apes).

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ending explained 5z5l2z

After Noa and his clan return home to rebuild, he spots Mae in the distance, and begrudgingly approaches her. She tells him she came to bid farewell following their journey together, but the gun that Mae hides behind her back suggests that she’s as aware of the newfound tension between them as Noa is. She leaves him on the same tense they began the interaction with, making no secret of her belief that humans deserve their chance to be the dominant species again. Noa, meanwhile, stands firmly against the dominating nature that humans and Proximus have exhibited, perhaps worried that humans returning to the top would invite that very nature.

Mae then returns to the satellite base she originally came from (this is the first time we audience see it), and hands over the deciphering key she took from the military bunker to one of the other humans inside. Using this, the humans manage to make with other humans that are scattered across the world. Mae gazes at the sky as the satellites find the humans, while Noa also gazes at the sky from inside the observatory he encountered earlier in his adventure.

Suffice to say Noa and Mae will be meeting again in the future, likely on significantly less-friendly , and possibly winding up on opposite sides of a new war; one that may mirror the ideological clash between Caesar and Koba that came to a front during Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

This ending is also an appropriate note in the context of what Kingdom sought to explore thematically; when Noa first encountered the planetarium, he saw the night sky (perhaps the moon) with a newfound wonder for the world he lived alongside. Now, he looks upon that same sky with the same respect, but it’s less an awestruck iration and more a kinship, now that he recognizes a certain vulnerability in the world that he once did not. Mae, meanwhile, is staring at the very same sky that Noa is, but her stare is one of perverted hope for a world that will bow its head to humanity once again.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is now playing in theaters.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes keeps the grand tradition of the Apes franchise alive. At least, the grand tradition the franchise has established in the 21st century. What was previously a set of charming retro sci-fi films has become one of the most critically acclaimed properties in all Hollywood.

Kingdom, a standalone sequel to War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), has received positive reviews from fans and critics alike. Particular praise has been given to the motion capture and the way it ties in characters and elements from the original film.

In today’s streaming world, however, viewing options are plentiful. Sure, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes would be most enjoyable on a gigantic IMAX screen, but life gets in the way. It’d be much easier if one could simply sit on their couch and catch up with the new generation of primates at home. Quality is present, regardless of the size of the screen or the number of times one has to press pause.

Here’s what you need to know about Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and its streaming options.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is exclusively in theaters o5d21

The sneaking suspicion you had was true. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a huge tentpole franchise for 20th Century Fox (and by extension, Disney), so it makes sense that the studio would want to gross as much as possible by releasing it exclusively in theaters. It was the standard before the 2020 pandemic hit, and it’s still put into practice when it’s a brand as recognizable as the apes who took over the planet.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was released on May 10, and the big screen will be the only place that fans will be able to see it for the first couple of weeks. This is good news for director Wes Ball. He recently told ABC that he was inspired by sprawling epics like Avatar (2009) when making the new Apes film, and was thrilled with the way that it looked when it finally saw it in a big theater setting:

We tried to give people a roller coaster ride in the theater. It’s like a real experience, a visual experience. You feel like you’re 200 feet up in the air, hopefully you feel like you’re there with them and that danger’s there and it all feels real.

While it’s become customary for directors to urge fans to go and watch their films in theaters, Ball does make a compelling case. The Planet of the Apes films have always had stellar CG, and getting to see them in the highest possible resolution will undoubtedly be a treat. “We took a lot of that technology and kind of pushed it forward into this movie,” Ball added. “It’s pretty stunning.”

Kingdom will eventually be released on Hulu t4m18

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes may not be streaming immediately, but it will eventually land on Hulu and Disney Plus. This is the standard rollout for 20th Century Fox/Disney films released in the last few years. There isn’t an exact release date for Kingdom in of when it will stream, as it generally operates on a case-by-case basis. If a blockbuster film is doing great at the box office, then it will be in theaters longer. If ticket sales diminish, it will be sent to stream sooner.

Based on the success of previous Apes films, it’s likely that Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will land on streaming sometime around September. That’s assuming positive word of mouth remains and the audience goodwill from the previous installments rolls over. It’s an ittedly long wait for those who like to watch blockbusters at home, but the good news is that the other Apes films are readily available to stream.

The nine Planet of the Apes films leading up to Kingdom, including the 1968 original, are currently available to stream on Hulu. They are also available on Starz, and the most recent installments, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes, are streaming on Max.

As far as modern blockbuster franchises go, you’d be hard-pressed to find better than the Planet of the Apes reboot that began back in 2011 with Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Indeed, when it comes to the harmony of spectacle, gravitas-laden performances, and delectably bold themes, no one is well and truly capable of reaching the heights of the Apes movies these days. And now, with Wes Ball’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, we even have proof that Apes can’t reach the height of Apes.

That’s not to say that Kingdom is an unworthy first successor to the Caesar trilogy; it succeeds quite strongly in carving out a new direction for the franchise to go in, and in a world where fresh ideas tend to be the number one phobia of major film studios, simply displaying that ambition in a canon where it would be all too easy to do more of the same, is a first step that arguably laid a foundation that no mistake could ever truly compromise. And while the final result is a film that’s a bit rougher around the edges than it needed to be, Kingdom quite confidently seals the deal through the animus of Noa; a fantastic protagonist brought to life by the young Owen Teague, whose strikingly intelligent motion-capture performance suggests a wisdom for the craft far beyond his years.

Set 300 years after War for the Planet of the Apes, Kingdom follows the plight of the aforementioned Noa, a young hunter belonging to a clan of apes who share a kinship with eagles. After his home is burned down and his family and friends are captured by the tyrannical Proximus Caesar (portrayed by Kevin Durand, whose ticking time-bomb of a performance doesn’t just steal scenes; it commits full highway robbery of them), Noa sets off on a quest to rescue his clan and bring them home so they can rebuild. He’s ed by Raka, an orangutan who studies the teachings of the real Caesar, and Mae, a human woman who harbors a rather significant secret.

As alluded to above, the single most important piece of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is Noa, and while that seems like an obvious statement considering he’s the protagonist, the way in which he not only moves through the film, but also causes the film to move around him, makes him one of the most uniquely kinetic main characters out there; with time, he may even go on to sur the brilliance of Caesar.

When we’re introduced to Noa, he’s a virtuous but incredibly sheltered chimp who struggles to understand things outside of himself; this is true for the eagles that his clan lives with, and just as true for humans (which he has never properly encountered at this point). In this way, Noa is a relatively ive character, and it’s through this starting point that the identity of the entire film begins to take shape.

Noa’s initial ivity means that he’s naturally capable of existing alongside the world without needing to control everything himself (this is none-too-subtly shown in the first scene we meet him in). This, in a way, enables us audiences to witness the world around Noa; one brought to lushly evocative life by Gyula Pados’ cinematography upon an Earth that has reclaimed itself through the skeletons of our human cities.

This furthermore contrasts with Proximus Caesar, who’s gone and bastardized the original Caesar’s “apes together strong” law to justify his totalitarian rule. To the original Caesar, strong means safe; to Proximus, strong means the ability to conquer. In this way, Kingdom is perhaps more akin to the original 1968 film than the Caesar-centric reboot trilogy; over 50 years ago did Franklin J. Schaffner’s flick pose the question of what “better” looks like when it comes to civilization. With Kingdom, we may now be in the midst of a trilogy that wants to explore that question a bit deeper than its legendary ancestor did.

But for the moment, Kingdom has made very clear what better does not look like; bigger. Indeed, it’s no coincidence that Noa’s home is one of quaint openness and stimulating flora, whereas Proximus’ assimilatory kingdom boasts a more industrial, crunchy compactness to it (even less of a coincidence, perhaps, is the fact that those living under Proximus’ rule are all crammed into a washed-up ocean liner; indeed, when a society chases conquest and glory and neglects actual quality of life, Kingdom suggests it goes the way of the Titanic, as though Proximus’ slaughter-happy gorillas weren’t enough of a tell as is). This comes full circle during Noa’s battle against Sylva, one of Proximus’ most elite troops; exactly how that bow is tied is something you’ll have to see for yourself, but know that it’s at once a stroke of genius.

By then, Noa has long since left his ivity behind, angered by Proximus’ destruction and that which enables it, and has vowed to do something about it. Teague marks this transition magnificently, conveying Noa’s sureheaded, gung-ho, creative penchant for leadership just as deftly as he embodied the protagonist’s reluctant anxiety just an hour and a half ago. It’s an excellent performance that does many a favor for Kingdom; a favor that Kingdom unfortunately doesn’t quite return in full.

Visual storytelling is Kingdom‘s strong suit, and that’s apparent both in its thematic building blocks, and the fact that the film is at its weakest whenever the dialogue amounts to more than the simpler syllables uttered by the apes (this is most glaringly clear in William H. Macy’s character Trevathan, who brings the movie down through no real fault of Macy himself). The plot as a sequence of events is sturdy enough, but Kingdom is far and away at its best when it allows its scenes — and particularly Noa — to simmer and breathe and float between the margins, as it were. Obviously, the movie needs moments where it’s not doing those things, and while those moments could have used a bit more time in the oven, Kingdom knew what it was working with, and they polished that which mattered most (Noa, Proximus, its central ideas, and Mae to an extent) to near perfection. That was undoubtedly the right choice.

In summary, Caesar should be looking down on his standalone successor with all the pride in the world, because Wes Ball has carried the Planet of the Apes torch forward with a strong first step, laying the groundwork for a new era of Apes films that look all but ready to stand next to the Caesar trilogy, rather than upon its shoulders. Teague navigates the mo-cap gig like a seasoned pro, and while Kingdom isn’t quite the homerun it could have been, it still got enough batters across home plate to be worthy of many a stellar compliment; certainly more than that baseball metaphor just now.

Movie fans don’t have much longer to wait until Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is released as highly anticipated standalone sequel to 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes hits theaters worldwide on May 10.

Andy Serkis’ Caesar, the much revered and respected king of the apes, was the main ape in the 2017 film that kicked off this simian revival . At the end of War for the Planet of the Apes, Caesar succumbed to a crossbow arrow wound and died while fighting to protect his fellow primates.

However, Caesar left behind a young son, Cornelius, who was born in 2014’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and appeared in its 2017 sequel. Maurice, a Bornean orangutan and Caesar’s most loyal confidant and closest friend promised that Cornelius would know who his father was. That’s left fans wondering if Cornelius would continue Caesar’s legacy in the new movie.

Will we see Cornelius in the film? s395d

Unfortunately, Cornelius will not appear in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.

The events of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will occur 300 years after the previous movie’s story, meaning Caesar’s son will be long dead.

That being said, in the absence of Caesar and Cornelius, their legacy will likely live on in the form of the movie’s main character. Owen Teague will play Noa, a young chimpanzee hunter who, it’s more than probable, is a descendant of the two characters.

The film’s villain, Kevin Durand’s Proximus Caesar, will pervert Caesar’s teachings, meaning Noa will have to do right by his ancestors and thwart his evil plans.

So, while Cornelius will almost certainly be mentioned, and viewers will surely learn more about the legacy he left behind during his life, he can’t appear, given the ing of three centuries since War for the Planet of the Apes.

With Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, 20th Century Studios is taking us into the far future of their bizarre-yet-entertaining ape-dominated world. But how far, and where is the new movie set in the timeline?

Loosely based on a novel by Pierre Boulle, 1968’s Planet of the Apes follows a group of space explorers stranded on a planet where monkeys rule and humans are voiceless savages. The shocking ending reveals the planet was Earth all along, and that the explorers had traveled through time instead of space. The image of the Statue of Liberty destroyed is one of the most classic moments in cinema history, responsible for turning Planet of the Apes into a successful franchise, counting five movies, one live-action series, and one animated TV show.

In 2001, 20th Century Fox tried to modernize the franchise for a new generation with a remake. Tim Burton’s take on the apes was a flop, burying the franchise for a few more years. One decade later, the studio finally figured out how to tell new stories in the Planet of the Apes universe by rebooting the franchise with a trilogy of prequels. Instead of taking humans to the future, the trilogy follows a chimpanzee named Caesar (Andy Serkis) as he gains human-like intelligence and slowly builds a primate kingdom.

The reboot of Planet of the Apes is the rare trilogy in which every movie is amazing, which means we are, of course, extremely excited about Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. So here’s how it fits in.

‘Kingdom Of The Planets Of The Apes’ is a standalone sequel to Caeser’s trilogy 463c40

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a standalone sequel to the reboot trilogy. That means the movie is set in the same universe and shares the same continuity. Even so, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes tells its own story, without any of the original characters.

Set 300 years after the end of War for the Planet of the Apes, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes shows how the primates have taken over the globe and climbed to the top of the food chain. In this new world, humans have devolved into a primal state and are forced to hide from monkey hunters. While the primate technology of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is not as advanced as shown in the 1968 movie, it’s easy to see how much the apes have evolved since Caesar’s trilogy.

While Caesar was an honorable leader, the current ruler, Proximus Caesar, has forgotten the teachings of the apes’ forefathers. Proximus Caesar’s ruthless ruling and cruelty towards humans sets the new movie into motion, with a band of renegades uniting to challenge the tyrant. It’s the perfect setting for a sequel and the reboot trilogy untouched while exploring new stories.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes comes to theaters on May 10, 2024.

Almost a decade after War For the Planet of the Apes premiered, and fans are gearing up for its sequel. Entitled, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the film takes ape supremacy even further.

As humans feared, apes are now the dominant species on the planet. The virus that made them smarter has effectively wiped humans off the map, with only a few struggling to survive. For fans of the franchise, this was the natural course of events and three films in the making. But as viewers head into theaters to see a new era unfold, one question is undoubtedly on everyone’s mind.

Will Caesar be represented in this new hierarchy? It is hard to imagine an Apes movie without this formidable force. In the previous three films, motion cap icon Andy Serkis portrayed the head of the ape resistance with remarkable gravitas and vulnerability. But he’s become so synonymous with the franchise that going on without him almost seems like sacrilege.

How does Caesar appear in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes? w2d38

Fans with even a cursory knowledge of War For the Planet of the Apes, know that the outlook is not great for Caesar. After defeating the mad Colonel (Woody Harrelson) and rescuing his family from work camps, Caesar takes a fatal wound. The final shot is the ape leader dying in a new paradise he has found for his family. 

There is another factor that puts a kink in the plan of Caesar’s return. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is not set directly in the aftermath of the ape leader’s death. Actually, it takes place a good three centuries after the fact. Unless Caesar is returning like some Force ghost, it’s safe to say he will physically not be there. But that doesn’t mean his presence will be absent in the film. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes makes sure to acknowledge him as a figure, notably by the name of the leader of this new world order. Kevin Durand plays leader, Proximus Caesar, and told Empire Magazine how his predecessor appears in the film. 

“Caesar is almost a religious figure, and Proximus has taken on the name Caesar because it was the highest position held in ape society. It was a self-proclamation that was achieved by any means necessary, to ensure that apes continue to evolve. So you’re seeing the influence and the evolution of what Caesar left. And, like in every morsel of human history, there’s always some type of tyrant who comes along and scares everyone into believing them.”

Proximus Caesar’s only interest is in power, which is antithetical to what Prime Caesar would have wanted. He uses the knowledge of Caesar as a method of control, as any dictator does. But that doesn’t mean that Caesar will be totally forgotten. Our hero, Noa (Owen Teague), may not know who Caesar was, but the trajectory of the film is about him finding what his legacy means. Caesar will live on in this franchise, even if fans sadly do not get to see the acting prowess of Serkis. Viewers can catch Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes in theaters starting May 8.

On May 10, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes — the long-awaited standalone sequel to 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes — hits theaters worldwide. The movie is set almost 300 years after its predecessor, meaning all the characters who appeared in it are long dead.

By this time the remaining humans on Earth have regressed into a feral state. At the same time, apes follow in Caesar’s footsteps, building civilizations and attempting to live peacefully in the oasis that Andy Serkis’ character created.

That is apart from one ape, Proximus Caesar, who goes against Caesar’s teachings and uses weapons forged from salvaged human technologies to enslave other primate clans. But precisely who is Proximus Caesar in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes?

Proximus Caesar explained 5x1m6f

Proximus Caesar, played via motion-capture by The Strain and X-Men Origins: Wolverine star Kevin Durand, is the primary antagonist of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.

He’s a highly evolved bonobo — a great ape historically known as the pygmy chimpanzee, the dwarf chimpanzee, or the gracile chimpanzee — whose ruthless nature tarnishes Caesar’s legacy.

He leads the Coastal Ape Colony, a clan of apes based in the western coastal area of North America. Their sole purpose is to find lost human weapons and devices, which they can use to control other ape clans dictatorially.

Proximus Caesar wears a crown and has a menacing appearance. This is aided by the fact that despite being a descendant of evolved apes, his sclera — the outer layer of the eyes surrounding the irises — is dark-colored, a trait ordinary apes possess in the real world. His allies include Silva, an evolved gorilla who serves him, portrayed by Eka Darville.

Planet of the Apes fans will hope Proximus Caesar makes as big a mark on the cinematic landscape as Caesar himself did, and fortunately we don’t have to wait too long to find out.

Planet of the Apes has quietly been one of the best movie franchises of the 21st century. Nobody expected Rise of the Planet of the Apes to be as good as it was back in 2011, and the series has just gotten better and better thanks to the work of director Matt Reeves on 2014’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes. These are sci-fi epics that grapple with complex ideas, and they present, in Caesar, one of the most effective depictions of a CG-rendered character in all of cinema.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes picks up where the previous trilogy left off, which is to say, after the apes have conquered humanity. The blockbuster will shift the focus to the hunger for power and political turmoil that corrupts the primates in charge, but those who watched the Kingdom trailer may have noticed that someone is missing.

Caesar, the focus of the previous three films, is nowhere to be found. Some have theorized that the character is simply being withheld to drum up anticipation, while others posit that Caesar died in the years between War and Kingdom. Which is it? Well, here’s what you need to know ahead of the new film.

Yes, Caesar died in War for the Planet of the Apes 192m2y

Caesar was the undoubted protagonist of the 2011-17 Apes trilogy. He was a fascinating character who underwent staggering personal and evolutionary change and literally remade the world in his image. War for the Planet of the Apes culminated with Caesar taking out the last realistic credible threat that mankind posed, and guiding his primate followers to the “oasis.” Shortly after arriving, however, Caesar succumbs to a gunshot wound he suffered at the hands of a human. Caesar dies a hero, and the film ends with the rest of ape-kind acknowledging him as the greatest ape who ever lived.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the start of a new chapter. It takes place 300 years after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes, so even if Caesar was able to survive his injuries in the aforementioned film, he would have died of old age. Tragic as the character’s outcome may have been, it was always the plan for Caesar actor Andy Serkis and War director Matt Reeves.

They told Screen Rant that they wanted Caesar to be viewed as a “Moses” figure by the end of the film, and he could only achieve this mythic status by sacrificing himself. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes explores the world that Caesar helped to create. The good aspects and the bad. It’s a story that wouldn’t possible to tell were he still alive.

Caesar’s legacy looms over the new characters d6p2s

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes introduces Proximus Caesar, a leader who claims to be a descendant of his namesake. He frames himself in the same mythic fashion as Caesar, but his brutality and his megalomania reflect more the personality of villainous apes like Koba (who perished after challenging Caesar in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes).

Kingdom director Wes Ball talked about the complicated way in which Proximus Caesar grapples with, and perverts Caesar’s legacy, during a recent interview with Screen Rant. In his estimation, Proximus Caesar actually makes good points about humanity and their achievements, but it’s the execution that solidifies him as a villain:

He has a twisted view of what Caesar wanted. Caesar’s become more of a title now… This is a cool concept I think for a villain who is trying to make the first ape kingdom. He’s the first ape King.

It’s a fascinating narrative choice, and one that was informed by iconic characters the same way that Reeves’ films were. While Reeves made reference to Moses, Ball told Total Film he modeled his protagonist, Noa, after Star Wars‘ Luke Skywalker and Lord of the Rings‘ Frodo Baggins. Big shoes to fill, but if any franchise can do it, it’s Planet of the Apes.