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Summary
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the fourth movie in the reboot series and will pick up after War for the Planet of the Apes.
- The humans have become feral and animalistic, similar to the original 1968 film, while the intelligent ape descendants of Caesar struggle to dominate the planet.
- The absence of Andy Serkis as Caesar marks a new direction for the franchise, but early indications suggest that Kingdom will be a strong addition to the series.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the fourth movie in the most recent reboot series of The Planet of the Apes franchise, is on the way in 2024. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will pick up several years after 2017's War for the Planet of the Apes. In the next Planet of the Apes movie the intelligent simian descendents of Caesar are continuing to navigate the struggles of becoming the dominate species on planet Earth. The humans meanwhile have descended into feral, animalistic beings, much like those seen in the 1968 original starring Charlton Heston which kicked off the original The Planet of the Apes franchise.
With a cast that doesn't include Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings's Gollum) for the first time, there's much anticipation on what the next Planet of the Apes movie will bring. Serkis's Caesar has been the central focus of every Planet of the Apes reboot franchise so far, so Kingdom will as much be the story of how the franchise continues without him as it is about his character's legacy in the society of intelligent apes. Planet of the Apes 4 will be a true test for the rebooted movies, but everything revealed about Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes so far — including comments from Andy Serkis himself — indicate it could be one of the strongest entries to far.
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes Latest News
The most recent Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes news arrived in March 2023. Andy Serkis, the star of the first three movies in the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise, spoke to Cinemablend and revealed that the next movie will "blow people’s minds." Serkis had nothing but praise for the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes story, revealing that director Wes Ball's next chapter is a more than worthy successor to the preceding trilogy.
"I think Wes Ball is going to do an amazing job with this film. I think it’s, from what I’ve heard and what I’ve seen, there’s some amazing conceptual artwork." The Planet of the Apes star explained, "And where they’ve chosen to land the story and take off with the next iteration, I think it’s gonna blow people’s minds." Outside of this news on what to expect from the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes story has been quiet throughout the year, though this is likely in part to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes (which prevented writers and actors from promoting most of their ongoing and upcoming projects).
The most significant Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes update to arrive in 2023 was Disney's reconfirmation off the release date. There had been some concern that the strikes would lead to Planet of the Apes 4 delays, but an August statement from the studio during the then ongoing WGA strike and still-ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike reiterated their plans for the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes theatrical release to land on May 24, 2024 (via The Direct).
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes Is Confirmed
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was confirmed in 2019 (via THR). Matt Reeves, who directed the first three films in the rebooted Planet of the Apes trilogy had discussed a potential Planet of the Apes 4 from as early as 2016, with the project being discussed again around the release of 2017's War for the Planet of the Apes. Kingdom was first confirmed by Disney in 2019 after their acquisition of 20th Century Studios, and that the story of the next Planet of the Apes movie wouldn't be another reboot. Disney also revealed in 2022 that Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes could be the first in a trilogy, meaning the reboot franchise would continue on to a sixth installment (via MovieWeb).
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes Release Date
The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes film officially has a release date of May 24, 2024. In the past, Memorial Day weekend has been a successful time for theater releases, so Disney appears to have a lot of confidence in the movie. It's unknown when Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will be available for streaming, but it's expected that it will arrive on Disney+ when it does.
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes Cast
The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes cast has already been mostly revealed. While the cast includes the likes of Owen Teague, Reya Allen, and William H. Macy, Disney and 20th Century studios haven't revealed who they're playing. The only confirmed character so far in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is Cornelius, the son of the first sentient ape Caesar. Outside this the specific players in the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes story are unknown. Who will be playing this mystery characters is known, however, and the confirmed Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes cast includes:
- Owen Teague (The Stand, IT) as Cornelius
- Freya Allan (The Witcher, The Third Day).
- Peter Macon (The Orville, Shameless)
- Eka Darville (Jessica Jones, The Originals)
- Kevin Durand (The Strain, X-Men Origins: Wolverine)
- Travis Jeffery (Spin Out, Bloody Hell)
- Neil Sandilands (The 100, The Flash)
- Sara Wiseman (The Cult, A Place to Call Home)
- Lydia Peckham (Cowboy Bebop, Only Cloud Knows)
- Ras-Samuel Weld A'abzgi (The Clearing, Blvck Gold)
- William H. Macy (Shameless, The Lincoln Lawyer)
- Dichen Lachman (Severance, Altered Carbon)
One of the most surprising Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes cast choices isn't who will be in the movie, but who won't be. Andy Serkis played Caesar, the first ape to gain self-awareness and the central character of the reboot franchise, in all three previous Planet of the Apes movies. The fact Andy Serkis isn't in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was a huge surprise, as many expected him to reprise the role (albeit in a flashback capacity). The star has, however, given his blessing for Planet of the Apes 4, and has described the story as one that will "blow people’s minds."
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes Story Details
The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes plot is unknown, but there have been a few details teased about the basic premise. At the end of War for the Planet of the Apes, Caesar dies due to wounds he receives defeating an army of humans and saving his tribe. Maurice the Orangutan promises Caesar that his son will know his father’s name. The title teases the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes story too, and what happens after Caesar leads his clan to safety and passes. The title of the three previous films in the series all hinted at their plots, so for the fourth to be called Kingdom implies that the apes from the previous films have set up a real society, closer to the one in the original movies.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is set years after War and humanity has been mostly wiped out by the simian flu. Multiple ape societies have risen up and each follows different interpretations of Caesar’s teachings. Some of these communities twist Caesar’s ideas and enslave other apes as well as any remaining humans. The ape who could presumably replace Caesar as the hero escapes his clan’s enslavement and teams up with a human and the two embark on a journey to find their freedom.
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes Trailer Info
So far, no trailer for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has been revealed. Filming has wrapped on Kingdom and story details have mostly been revealed, so an early teaser trailer could be released in late 2023 or early 2024. One bottleneck for the trailer will be the visual effects post-production. The recent Planet of the Apes films' VFX are some of the best in Hollywood and every film requires more CGI scenes thanks to the increasing amount of digital characters. This reliance on post-effects work may delay trailers until the visuals are up to Ball’s standards.