Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the fourth film in the Planet of the Apes series, has just finished filming. The movie will be a direct sequel to 2017’s War of the Planet of the Apes.
Director Wes Ball announced that the movie has wrapped up production. Ball also shared a BTS video of early-stage ape CGI for the film. Filming for the fourth installment of Planet of the Apes started in October.
In the previous movie, Caesar, the leader of the apes, sacrificed himself to let his tribe escape. Maurice, his most trusted and loyal friend, promised Caesar his son would know his father’s legacy. This sets up the plot of the upcoming film.
The reports suggest that the Kingdom of The Planet of The Apes is set years after the events of the War of the Planet of the Apes. After the war, humans have already regressed to a feral state while ape clans have found a home in the same Oasis that Caesar led them to in the previous movie. The film follows Cornelius, the last living son of Caesar, as he continues his father’s legacy.
That’s a wrap! 🦍🤝💪 🎉#kingdomoftheplanetoftheapes pic.twitter.com/ZeKeXNuuod
— Wes Ball (@wesball) February 15, 2023
While still maintaining the framework of the Planet of the Apes universe, director Wes Ball built a new story world and a set of new characters for the movie.
According to the reports, one ape leader enslaves other clans and is in search of human technology. Another ape, whose clan was enslaved, “embarks on a journey to find freedom.” A young woman will reportedly be the key to the latter’s journey.
Owen Teague will be playing an older Cornelius in the movie. Cast members include Freya Allan, Peter Macon, Eka Darville, Kevin Durand, Travis Jeffery, Neil Sandilands, Sara Wiseman, Lydia Peckham, and Ras-Samuel Weld A’abzgi. The specific characters of the actors are currently not known.
The movie will be director Wes Ball’s first time working on the Planets of the Apes franchise. The director made a name for himself with the Maze Runner series movies.
The screenplay for Kingdom of The Planet of The Apes was written by Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, and Patrick Aison. Friedman, Jaffa, and Silver are best known for their work in James Cameron’s Avatar movie franchise. Avatar: The Way of Water is currently the third highest-grossing film of all time.
Joe Hartwick Jr, Jaffa, Silver and Jason Reed will be producing the film with Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping working as executive producers. The movie will be produced and distributed by 20th Century Studios.
Disney is reportedly happy with the script of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and hopes that this will be the start of a new trilogy. “It’s one of those things where it starts with a germ of an idea, but if it’s got fertile ground, it can really grow,” writer Rick Jaffa shared in an interview with FilmSpeak.
Kingdom of The Planet of the Apes is opening in theaters on May 24, 2024.
