The Big Picture

Wes Ball confirms that the new
Planet of the Apes
movie,
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
, will leave the door open for future installments.
The events of
Kingdom
will bring us closer to the events of the original 1968
Planet of the Apes
movie.
Wes Ball initially turned down the opportunity to make a new Apes movie, but later came up with a big bold idea for a sequel.

Not many movie franchises can stand the test of time quite like the Planet of the Apes. When the original sci-fi movie directed by Franklin J. Schaffner first hit theaters in 1968, it managed to hit the zeitgeist with its social commentary and iconic scenes. Since then, other filmmakers have come in to make their mark on the Planet of the Apes franchise. While some have fallen flat, like the Tim Burton remake in the early 2000s, others like Rupert Wyatt and Matt Reeves have risen to the occasion to bring prestige to these movies. Now, the dawn of a new Apes movie is upon us, and Wes Ball, director of the Maze Runner movies, is stepping into the historic film series.

The new installment, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, centers around a young chimpanzee Noa, played by Owen Teague, set generations after Caesar’s death and where humans have gone completely mute due to the new strain of simian flu discovered in 2017’s War For the Planet of the Apes. The film also stars Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, and William H. Macy.

Recently, Ball spoke with a group of journalists during an edit bay visit, in which Collider was in attendance. While there, Ball gave those in attendance insight into the continuation of the Planet of the Apes story, with the intention of making a new trilogy, saying, “There’s more to come, I think. If we’re lucky enough, there’s more ideas to come, in 2 and 3.” When asked to clarify his comments on a second and third film after Kingdom, Ball confirmed that they’d intentionally left the door open for future installments. Here’s what he said:

“I don’t want to say we end on a cliffhanger, but we certainly end on a new door opening, essentially, that will allow us to keep going, you know, if we wanted to. If we were successful enough to.”

The most recent trilogy—Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and War For the Planet of the Apes—was well-received with critical and audience praise. It tells the rise and reign of Caesar (Andy Serkis) as Earth’s status quo changes from a world dominated by humans to one dominated by intelligent apes. Ball also mentioned that the events of Kingdom would get us closer to the events of the original 1968 Planet of the Apes movie.

Wes Ball Explained Why He Initially Passed on Making New ‘Apes’ Installment

Ball revealed to the press in attendance that he and his producing partner, Joe Hartwick Jr., felt the responsibility to carry on the legacy of the Apes movies. In fact, while answering a question about one of the opening scenes of Kingdom involving a new rite of passage involving eagle eggs, Ball admitted that he initially said “no” when approached to make it but came to picture what a sequel to War For the Planet of the Apes could be. Here’s what he had to say when he was first asked to make a new Planet of the Apes movie:

“Honestly, I said, ‘No thanks.’ I was like, ‘Why do it? The trilogy was fine. It has a perfect little thing. Why do it? I’m not interested in doing a Part Four. It’s not really fun; it’s not very interesting.’ I went away, it was like, I have a week later, I think I know how to do this. It was this thing of what we do is we make a big leap. It’s a big bold choice. We’re gonna do a giant cut after Caesar has died, but we’re not gonna abandon what has come before us essentially, right? We’re still in that same world.
We’re still in that universe, and in fact we get to play with the idea of what has happened to Caesar’s legacy?
What has survived? Whole buildings are dissolving away. What has happened to his stories, his legacy, his teachings?”

According to Ball, this sparked an enthusiasm to center Kingdom around the teachings of the orangutan Maurice (Karin Konoval) during Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Knowledge is power. “Whereas the previous movies were all about the virus and the spread, this is about knowledge and how it can catch it and spread it, and how it can change you and affect you,” Ball explains.

Kingdom of the Planet of Apes will be released in theaters on May 10, 2024. Be sure to check out Loftus’ interview with Owen Teague today.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Many years after the reign of Caesar, a young ape goes on a journey that will lead him to question everything he’s been taught about the past and make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.