Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the latest chapter in the beloved series, is set roughly 300 years after the last installment, 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes. Given this jump ahead in time, you may be wondering whether that means that one day we will see the current prequel movies link up with the legendary 1968 original, Planet of the Apes, which starred the great Charlton Heston as an astronaut who crash lands on a strange planet sometime in the distant future.
Of course, even with this time jump, we still have a way to go before reaching the events of the original movie, but Kingdom director Wes Ball hopes that one day we meet it. As the filmmaker divulged during an interview with GamesRadar+ and the Inside Total Film podcast, he would love to see the current films build to the 1968 classic – but hopes that it is never remade (notably Tim Burton did release his own reimagining in 2001 to a poor reception).
Ball revealed: “I do think there are still many, many years in-between when that Charlton Heston reality steps in, where a spaceship drops out of the sky onto a planet full of apes. The connectedness of all these movies has always been a little loose, they aren’t like other franchises out there which are so absolutely carved in stone you can’t violate things – it’s always been a little loosely connected. In my mind if we had our choice, we wouldn’t go back and remake the 1968 version, we would build all the way up to it then start over, just go back and watch [the] ’68 version and the franchise through.”
It’s no secret that Kingdom aims to be the start of a new trilogy, following on from the most recent one which Ball has dubbed ‘the Caesar trilogy’. So, whilst a sequel hasn’t been given the official green light yet, this chapter does set events up pretty neatly for one, which the team already have some ideas for – even if they are currently just vague themes. Although it’s likely the director is just very good at holding his cards close to his chest…
As Ball teases: “What we did try to do is open a door to the potential of what we want to explore in the future. All these movies are about humans and apes living together or not, how they co-exist, the drama and conflict between them. That’s always what makes these movies tick, so what people will come to find is that this isn’t just an ape story, it’s also a human story, and ultimately if we are lucky enough to make more, that’s what we will go forward with – the relationship between these characters, how that will feed on itself, there’s plenty of drama and conflict to explore along the way.”
When asking the director directly if he would like to return to helm a sequel if one is given the thumbs up by the studio, Ball plays it cool – but it seems like he’s keen: “Let’s see! We tried hard to make it its own standalone movie whilst delivering the potential and promise of more to come – we have all these ideas in the back and hopefully if we are lucky enough we will get to continue on with these characters and story. We will see where the future takes us.”
Similarly, the cast are also keeping their lips sealed when discussing the possibility of returning for another film, but they could reveal what they would personally like to see from a sequel. For lead actor Owen Teague, who portrays the new young ape Noa, he wants to see where his protagonist goes next after going on quite the journey in Kingdom. He explained: “I would like to see the route in terms of how he becomes a leader and the path he chooses to go on, how he carries forward in this world of apes and what role you might or might not play.”
The “you” Teague refers to there are the actors that are sat next to him during our interview, Freya Allan and Kevin Durand, who portray mysterious human Mae and the villainous ape Proximus Caesar respectively. They too have their own ideas for what they would like to see from potential future movies, which for Allan should continue to focus on Noa: “I want to see how Noa navigates what he has learnt – he comes from this village with such a specific upbringing. He’s sheltered and isolated, this movie is him learning everything all at once – I want to see how he takes that.”
Durand meanwhile has a more tongue-in-cheek response taking inspiration from Shakespeare, as he concludes: “I’m kinda hoping that I’m an angel and devil on both of your shoulders. Almost a type of Iago character. That’s what I’m hoping for so, here’s to hoping!”
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes releases in cinemas on May 9 in the UK and May 10 in the US. For more from our interviews, here’s Ball on whether we will see a film about Caesar’s son one day.
And to stay up to date with the most exciting films heading your way, check our our guide to the upcoming movies of 2024.
