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Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes: 4th Apes Film Lands Witcher Star and Unveils New Title

The Planet Of The Apes reboot now has a star and an official title: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Per Deadline, the 4th entry in 20th Century Studios’ Planet Of The Apes reboot now has a star and an official title: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, with the human lead going to Freya Allan of Netflix’s The Witcher. She joins Owen Teague and Peter Macon (The Orville) under the direction of Wes Ball (The director of the Maze Runner trilogy) with a script by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Josh Friedman, and Patrick Aison, with filming set to commence next month. 

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes First Look

We also have a first look at Kingdom here:

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

We see an ape riding a horse out by a waterfall.  Presumably it’s back in the Red Woods of the previous 3 films, but we won’t know until the film releases.  The shot seems to indicate that the new film will follow the visual tone of Matt Reeves’ installments (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War For the Planet of the Apes), both of which carried earthy looks and muted colors to emphasize the seriousness of their stories.  Speaking on the upcoming sequel, 20th Century Studios head Steve Asbell stated,

Planet of the Apes is one of the most iconic and storied science fiction franchises in film history, as well as being an indelible part of our studio’s legacy.  With Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes we are privileged to continue the series’ tradition of imaginative, thought-provoking cinema, and can’t wait to share Wes’ extraordinary vision for this new chapter with audiences in 2024.”

The Planet of the Apes franchise has been a staple of Hollywood ever since the original was released in 1968. The original film took inspiration from the novel of the same name by Pierre Boulle and saw leading man Charlton Heston as an astronaut who landed on a future earth wherein primates had become the dominate species on earth. 

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The success of that film lead to 4 direct sequels spanning from 1970-1973, 2 tv shows , a Tim Burton-directed remake in 2001, and finally the ongoing reboot series that began with Rise of the Planet of the Apes back in 2011 and originally concluding with 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes.  The franchise has collectively raked in $1.7 billion globally, becoming one of 20th Century Studios’ biggest successes with critics and audiences alike.

wes ball - planet of the apes
The FOX Planet of the Apes films are universally considered one of the best film trilogies

What interests me about this project is the return of writing duo Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa. The two penned Rise of the Planet of the Apes and co-wrote Dawn of the Planet of the Apes with Matt Bomback in 2014, but stepped into producing roles for War for the Planet of the Apes. They’ve been with this reboot ever since it started, blowing away peoples’ initial expectations and combining blockbuster spectacle with thoughtful ideas across the trilogy. 

With previous director Matt Reeves now working over at Warner Bros on a sequel and spinoffs for The Batman, Wes Ball seems like a solid choice to take the reigns. His work on The Maze Runner showed he’s good working with actors and shooting exciting action, so we should be able to expect a solid follow-up here. 

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It will also be intriguing to see how Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes financially performs in a COVID landscape and the longer-than-usual distance between installments. Rise, Dawn, and War were each released 3 years apart, whereas this will come out 6 years after the previous installment.  We’ll see how this Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes rules once int hits theaters in 2024.

no planet of the apes reboot
When people reboot you before you’re ready.

What are your thoughts on the title and casting for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes? Are you excited to see where the saga goes next? What did you think of the previous installments? Do you think you’d survive in a simian-run society? Let us know in the comments below and on our Twitter.

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Source: Deadline

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Kevin Thomas

Kevin Thomas

Kevin Thomas is a film-loving college graduate who has been writing film reviews since age 10. He approaches life with a sense of humor and optimism and lives in Georgia with his 2 dogs.