EXCLUSIVE: 'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes' Scribes Tease What To Expect In Their Sequel Without Caesar
Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa might still be basking in the success of Avatar: The Way of Water, but would you believe that they are currently knee-deep in yet another blockbuster sequel at Disney? In addition to penning James Cameron’s latest adventure on the mythical planet of Pandora, the two make up half the writing team for the highly-anticipated film Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
While the next installment of the franchise does not hit theaters for another year, in an exclusive interview with FilmSpeak, the duo shared that the long-awaited project is mere weeks away from wrapping production.
“We’re about to close production,” Silver started, before Jaffa eagerly interjected that the shoot still has about three weeks left. The obvious excitement comes just over 3 years since the project was first announced and 3 months since principal photography kicked off in Australia.
Kingdom marks the first time the duo has written an Apes film since Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. When you realize that they are the two who revamped the dying franchise with 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, you can see why the two were so excited to reveal the news. They’re returning to a world that they literally helped build. But, as it turns out, there’s a lot more they are hoping to set up with this entry than their previous films. There is also a lot more to explore, seeing as how their initial protagonist, Caesar, died at the end of the last film.
Make no mistake. It was hard to decide where to take the franchise next. Not because the series’ main character was killed off, but because there seemed to be no shortage of ideas for this world that we have only seen brief glimpses of through his eyes. Silver confirmed that shortly after the last entry, she and Jaffa had a brief “period of mourning” for the character Caesar. However, with so many new ideas constantly coming to them, she and Jaffa decided to get to work. “There’s just a lot of story left to tell,” Jaffa insisted.
With the added help of co-writer Josh Friedman (Avatar 3, 4, and 5) and Wes Ball (The Maze Runner trilogy) at the helm, Silver teased that there is a lot in store for the world. She says that she and Jaffa are especially excited to share what fate has in story for ape and mankind.
And it’s not like the new film will totally ignore Caesar’s sacrifice. As Jaffa explained, “Caesar created something and left a legacy. So then the questions are: what happens with that? What becomes of his legacy?”
He added that it doesn’t feel right to connect the new films with the original ones just yet. “Do we want to rush toward an ending [the beginning of the original Planet of the Apes], or do we want to find an interesting story to tell with interesting characters, “ he asked earnestly. But he came back to the simple point that there are too many stories in this world that have yet to be told.
“We did have a lot of ideas and so we sat down with Josh, Wes, Joe Hartwick Jr. - Wes’s producing partner - and starting kicking stuff around,” Jaffa said. He believes that the team came up with something that they are ""really excited about.” It’s more than just the script too. Jaffa also teased that he and Silver had “been loving what [they’ve] been seeing from the dailies.”
Reportedly, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes follows the events of the 2017 feature film War of the Planet of the Apes. The story picks up many years into the future. The primates have taken on humanity to exercise their right to rule. Rise of the Planet of the Apes' Caesar (played by Andy Serkis) is no longer alive, but while his martyrdom is a distant memory, his legacy is very much in full effect.
Unfortunately, specific plot points beyond these details are sparse. So anything beyond those few bits of information is pure speculation. However, given the title, context leads one to conclude that the upcoming film will most certainly explore a world where apes have seized control and the associative issues that ensue.
As for what the future holds for the franchise post Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Jaffa also added fuel to the speculative fire by saying that the film is just the start of a brand sequence of stories. He teased, “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.”
Now, last year it was reported that executives at both Disney and 20th Century Studios are very happy with the film’s script. So much so, that they are on board with the idea of Kingdom branching off into a new trilogy of Apes films for a whole new generation of fans. But does that mean we will get a trilogy following a brand new ape from infancy to adulthood (like Caesar), or will the next series be more scattered across the apocalyptic Earth? Sadly, we will just have to wait until next year to see.
While official plot details are still under wraps a recent rumor from credible industry insider Daniel RPK suggests that the film will take place generations after War for the Planet of the Apes. Additionally, he hints that the story will follow several ape and human characters whose lives become entwined during a search for some “ancient” human technology and a creeping revolution.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is set to star Owen Teague (Black Mirror), Freya Allan (Gunpowder Milkshake), Peter Macon (The Orville), Kevin Durand (The Strain), Eka Darville (Jessica Jones), Travis Jeffery (Unbroken), Neil Sandilands (Sweet Tooth), Sara Wiseman (One Of Us Is Lying), Ras-Samuel Welda’abzgi (The Clearing) and Lydia Peckham (Cowboy Bebop), and William H. Macy (Shameless).
Based on a novel by French writer Pierre Boulle, the original Planet of the Apes film starred Charlton Heston and revolved around an astronaut who lands on a planet and discovers an advanced ape civilization ruling over primitive humans. In the final, infamous twist, he learns he is actually on Earth, which had suffered an apocalyptic nuclear war.
The movie was a commercial and critical hit upon its 1968 release and spawned numerous sequels and a TV series throughout the 1970s. In 2001, Tim Burton remade the movie as a campy sci-fi action-adventure film starring Mark Wahlberg. Not only did it fail to excite audiences, but it essentially killed the franchise until Jaffa and Silver’s 2011 reboot.