The 1968 film adaptation of Pierre Boulle’s 1963 novel La Planète des singes (commonly known as Planet of the Apes or Monkey Planet) was a critical and commercial success, spawning a slew of sequels and spin-offs. After six films in the Planet of the Apes series from 1968 to 2001, a reboot series recreated the story of the chimp Caesar was announced. The first installment in the reboot series, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, was released in 2011. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes followed.
Following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox in April 2019, the studio announced that new Planet of the Apes films would be produced. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was revealed as the title of the fourth installment of the Planet of the Apes reboot series in September 2022. After nearly seven years, fans will be able to return to the simian-filled landscapes on the big screen once more in 2024. Here’s all we know so far about the highly anticipated new flick.
When Does ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ Come Out?
In the film Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, an ape holds a hawk.Image courtesy of 20th Century Studios
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will be released on May 24, 2024, on Memorial Day weekend, approximately seven years after the previous installment, War for the Planet of the Apes.
The Garfield Movie, starring Chris Pratt, and George Miller’s Furiosa, a prequel to the Oscar-winning Mad Max: Fury Road, starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, are now set to open on the same weekend.
Will ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ Be in Theaters or on Streaming?
An ape in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes looks out over a shattered cityscapeImage courtesy of 20th Century Studios Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will get an exclusive theatrical release. However, because the picture is released by Disney-owned 20th Century Studios, it will most likely be available on Disney+ or Hulu when it becomes available for streaming. However, with Disney’s news that it will buy Comcast’s remaining interest in Hulu, there is a significant probability that by the time Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is available on Netflix, Disney+ and Hulu will have combined into a single streaming service.
Is There a Trailer for ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’?
On November 2, 2023, 20th Century Studios published the first teaser trailer for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. While the teaser does not reveal much about the plot of the upcoming film, it does introduce us to a new, younger monkey who is probably the film’s protagonist. The teaser clip also suggests that the apes will no longer communicate in bad English, but will instead be fluent in English.
What Is the Plot of ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’?
The events of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will take place years after the events of the “Caesar Trilogy.” While earlier films are still regarded canon for this new picture, characters such as Caesar, Koba, Cornelia, Maurice, Rocket, and Nova are unlikely to appear.
In a recent Empire sneak peek, Ball confirmed that while Caesar remains a spirit in the film, most of his real relatives will not appear in this new edition, going on to remark
The official summary from 20th Century Studios is as follows:
Who Stars in ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’?
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ Freya AllanImage courtesy of 20th Century Studios
Because the latest episode in the Planet of the Apes franchise is claimed to take place “several generations” after the events of the last film, a totally new cast makes logical.
Using motion-capture technology, Owen Teague (IT) will play Noa, the film’s lead ape. Teague will fill the shoes left by Andy Serkis, who played Caesar, the lead ape in the previous trilogy of films, and received critical and fan acclaim. While Serkis did not return for the new picture, Teague did seek assistance from the motion-capture veteran, revealing in an interview: “The film’s human lead, a young woman who joins the young ape on his journey, will be played by Freya Allan (The Witcher).” Previous human cast members of the Caesar trilogy included James Franco, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Woody Harrelson, and Amiah Miller, but none of them appear to be returning for the next film, with Allan taking their place.
The rest of the film’s ensemble will be made up of William H. Macy (Shameless), Kevin Durand (The Strain), Peter Macon (The Orville), Eka Darville (Jessica Jones), Travis Jeffery (Unbroken), Neil Sandilands (Sweet Tooth), Sara Wiseman (A Place to Call Home), Lydia Peckham (Cowboy Bebop), Ras-Samuel Weld A’abzgi (The Clearing), and Dichen Lachman (Severance).
Outside of Noa, no details or names for the new characters have been disclosed, so we can only conjecture on who these new people are for the time being.
Who’s Making ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’?
Wes Ball on the set of The Maze RunnerImage courtesy of 20th Century Fox
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will be directed by Wes Ball, who helmed The Maze Runner trilogy for 20th Century Fox. Matt Reeves, who helmed the previous two films Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes, will hand over the director’s chair to Ball.
The screenplay was written by Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa, and Amanda Silver from Avatar: The Way of Water, as well as Patrick Aison from Prey. Jaffa and Silver were also responsible for the preceding three Planet of the Apes films’ scripts.
Along with Joe Hartwick Jr (The Maze Runner) and Jason Reed (Mulan), Ball, Jaffa, and Silver serve as producers on the project. Peter Chernin (Hidden Figures) and Jenno Topping (Ford v Ferrari) serve as executive producers on the film.
Several of Ball’s past collaborators from The Maze Runner trilogy returned to work on the new picture, including composer John Paesano, cinematographer Gyula Pados, and editor Dan Zimmerman.
When and Where Was ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ Filmed?
In Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, an orangutanImage courtesy of 20th Century Studios
The production of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes began in October 2022. The film’s principal photography took place at Disney Studios Australia in Sydney, under the working title Forbidden Zone. Ball announced the end of filming with a BTS video from the sets of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes on February 15, 2023. You can view the video Ball tweeted below:
In the video, fans can receive an early glance of the representation of the movie’s title apes enjoying the end of filming in front of a blue screen. The massive crew can also be seen celebrating and cheering as Wes Ball declares that it’s all over!
