Five years after War for the Planet of the Apes closed out Caesar’s trilogy of stories, the 2024 movies will bring audiences back to the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. What we know about director Wes Ball’s “new chapter” in Apes history is that it will show us what’s happened eons after Andy Serkis’ revolutionary hero died leading his people to the promised land.
There’s a good reason for that, even though Ball himself understands that there’s another spinoff fans are still hoping to see. During a chat with ScreenRant at this year’s WonderCon, the Maze Runner helmer fully admitted to knowing that the story of Cornelius, Caesar’s son, is something folks are still anticipating.
When addressing why that tale isn’t what’s on the menu at this moment, Wes Ball spoke to his own fandom with these remarks:
I know there's people that wanted to see Cornelius and The Adventures of Cornelius. Someone can still do that story. But the fact that we got to have this distance from that movie, it just opened up new opportunities that are going to let us do something even more exciting and big than maybe people were expecting. So I'm really excited. I think we picked the right way to do this and so it doesn't just feel like a part four. It feels like a new chapter, a new page in this long awesome legacy of movies.
A centuries long gap certainly helps when you’re trying to maintain the longevity of a franchise, especially one as long reaching as Planet of the Apes. With a handful of centuries separating the end of War for the Planet of the Apes and the beginning of Kingdom, there’s so much ape history we’ll probably be clued into in this new adventure. But we don’t necessarily have to see it just yet.
I kind of agree with Wes Ball and his team’s approach to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ story. While I’d really like to see how Cornelius and the first generation of ape civilization forge their way ahead, it’s admittedly a story that can always be revisited later on. Meanwhile, jumping ahead presents a new challenge that, without question, keeps things fresh.
There’s obviously pressure when it comes to how this legendary sci-fi movie franchise will continue on. At the same time it would have been greater if they just picked up the torch immediately after Caesar’s death. Those “ new opportunities” are plentiful with a little more distance than one would expect from such a huge saga, and considering Wes Ball has an Apes trilogy plan, that story has even more free reign to roam without worrying about butting into existing history.
Will we ever see the story of Cornelius? That’s a question that’s still outstanding. But for now, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes represents a new start in the aftermath of Caesar’s heroism. You can travel there yourself, when the film opens in theaters on May 10th.
