Director of "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" teases exciting discussions and plans for a new trilogy in the franchise

Director Wes Ball, responsible for "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes," has confirmed that the upcoming film is designed to kickstart a new trilogy in the well-established Apes franchise. Following the narrative thread initiated with the reboot in 2011's "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," Ball's installment is set generations beyond Andy Serkis' portrayal of Caesar, who led the apes to become the dominant species on Earth. Scheduled for a May 2024 release, the movie introduces Owen Teague's character, Noa, a young chimpanzee on a perilous journey with the feral human Mae (Freya Allan) to thwart the tyrannical ape leader Proximus Caesar.


In a recent interview with Empire, Ball and producer Joe Hartwick Jr. disclosed that their intention was always for "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" to mark the beginning of a new trilogy. While Ball is uncertain about directly helming subsequent installments, he mentioned ongoing discussions with the studio about the next part of the story. The director hinted that while the prior trilogy focused on "the end of humanity," his new chapter would be "very much about the beginning of something."

Ball shared, "From the beginning, we thought about this as a trilogy. We had these grand ideas where it could ultimately go and how it could fit into the legacy of these movies. So I’m certainly talking to [the studio] right now about the next story."

Reflecting on the thematic arc, he added that the last three movies were about the end of something. They were about the end of this Moses story. They were about the end of humanity. And we thought ‘From the ashes of those previous movies, we’re gonna grow a new tree to climb.’ This movie is very much about the beginning of something.
While it remains unclear whether the current Planet of the Apes films aim to connect with the world introduced in 1968, there is potential for the franchise to explore the centuries between the rebooted trilogy and the original movies. The upcoming trilogy, starting with "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes," may continue focusing on Noa, offering room for further exploration in subsequent films. The potential for a trilogy of trilogies, akin to the Star Wars model, could extend the enduring science fiction saga, keeping fans engaged in the evolving narrative beyond the upcoming trilogy.




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