The newly-rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise continues with its latest instalment, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, due to take over cinemas later this year.
As the fourth film in the series, Kingdom serves as a direct follow-up to 2017’s climactic War for the Planet of the Apes, which itself was a sequel to 2014’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
In addition to regularly featuring titles that are a bit of a mouthful, this effects-laden retooling of the original sci-fi franchise of the ’60s has carved out a niche for using groundbreaking motion capture imagery, bringing the Apes franchise to life like never before.
While parts one through three showed us how the apes battled humans and later themselves for world domination, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes appears to show them as Earth’s dominant species.
What else do we know? Read on to find out…
When is Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes released?
Fans won’t have to wait too long to experience Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes in cinemas. It’ll make its debut on Friday, 24 May 2024.
Is there a trailer for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes?
The first trailer for Kindom of the Planet of the Apes dropped on Tuesday, 2 November and invited us into a sprawling, overgrown Earth that has some new owners.
In this overgrown jungle dystopia, apes have become the dominant species, with humans relegated to the sidelines and forced to live in hiding from their physically superior counterparts.
However, as the trailer progresses, we glimpse the beginnings of a new battle starting to rear its head.
Watch the full trailer below:
What happens in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes?
Warning: Spoilers follow
Directed by Wes Ball, the same filmmaker behind The Maze Runner franchise, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes sees Earth fully in the furry hands of the ape species who have taken over as the planet’s primary species.
The humans who managed to survive the battle that led to their supremacy are now forced to live on the edges of society and remain in hiding, feral and often treated like pets by their new ape overlords.
This new world is an apparent oasis carved out by the apes’ former leader Ceaser, a character whom we last saw in 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes. While Ceaser never lived to see his species take over the planet, his ultimate vision of many different ape clans living together as one has largely come to fruition.
However, it’s not long before in-fighting within ape society starts once more when a new tyrannical leader named Proximus Ceaser starts enslaving his fellow apes while searching for an old piece of human technology that can cement his reign.
Thankfully, one hope remains in the shape of Noa, a young ape with the power to change the future.
As the film’s official synopsis explains, this “young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.”
Who is starring in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes?
According to the film’s first trailer and all confirmed news leading up to its release, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will be the first in the franchise not to feature a performance from Andy Serkis’ Caeser.
Instead, the action will be led by IT actor Owen Teague as Noa, a young chimpanzee who was born a generation after Caesar’s reign. That said, while it’s still unconfirmed, we wouldn’t be too surprised if Serkis makes a cameo as Caeser in flashback form.
Teague will be joined by Lost star Kevin Durand as the evil Proximus Maximus, Peter Macon as Noa’s wise Orangutan guide Raka and a young feral woman named Mae, played by The Witcher’s Freya Allan.
William H. Macy, Neil Sandilands, Lydia Peckham, Eka Darville, Sara Wiseman, Ras-Samuel Weld A’abzgi and Dichen Lachman will also appear but their roles have not yet been disclosed.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will be released in cinemas on Friday, 24 May 2024.
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
