‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ Drops a Trailer at the Super Bowl!

The 4th film in the Planet of the Apes reboot series, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, has received its first teaser. Meanwhile, the teaser hints at the film going back to the iconic premise the franchise originated with.

The original Planet of the Apes series consisted of 5 films released between 1968 and 1973. Planet of the Apes became a sci-fi classic for its unique premise of a futuristic world where apes evolved to become the dominant species and enslaved humanity, achieving critical acclaim for its imaginative premise and social commentary. Its four sequels didn’t quite match the original film’s success, but they still did well commercially.

Then, in 2011, 20th Century Fox rebooted the series with Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The film backtracked in time a bit from Planet of the Apes and explored the beginnings of the Ape uprising against humanity. Rise of the Planet of the Apes received two sequels, with all three films achieving high critical and commercial success. However, after the third film in 2017, War for the Planet of the Apes, the future of the film series was left uncertain, given Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox.

By 2019 though, Disney had assured fans of the series that future Planet of the Apes films were in development. Disney later clarified that any forthcoming Planet of the Apes films would occur in the same universe as Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

At the Super Bowl, we got a brand new trailer for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and got to see exactly what is go come with rule of them.

Here’s everything else we know about the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes so far.

The first Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes teaser has arrived

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is set to premiere on Memorial Day, May 27, 2024, and is expected to arrive on Disney+ at a later date, too. Ahead of its release, 20th Century Studios dropped an early first teaser for the film.

The teaser confirms that a significant time skip will occur in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. While the previous film, War for the Planet of the Apes, saw the end of the war between apes and humans, this new film will tackle what the world looks like years after the conflict. Enough time has passed that the apes have become the dominant species and made progress in expanding their empire. It seems the reboot has finally reached the point that the original 1968 film showcased—where apes rule the world and humans have lost their superiority. Viewers will be excited to see how far along the ape’s empire is, as the last scene in the teaser gives a glimpse of how expansive, well-populated, and advanced this new society is. However, there are hints that things may not be as well as they seem, with some apes showing reluctance as they continue driving humans away.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes cast and crew

So far, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes‘ is keeping character names under wraps but has revealed much of the cast. Montana Story’s Owen Teague has been tapped to play the lead primate role in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. The young American actor has been steadily making a name for himself, appearing in the films Mrs. Fletcher and The Stand. Some rumors suggest that Teague is portraying Cornelius, the son of Caesar (Andy Serkis), but this has not been confirmed.

While Teague nabbed the lead primate role in the film, The Witcher‘s Freya Allan has been cast in the lead human role. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will mark her first lead role in a feature film. Also joining the cast is Peter Macon. No details about Macon’s role in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes have been revealed yet, but it’s believed he’s the third lead. The actor is best known for starring as Lt. Commander Bortus in The Orville. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will also mark Macon’s first role in a big blockbuster film.

Meanwhile, Wes Ball has been tapped to direct Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Ball is an American film director best known for directing The Maze Runner trilogy. He is now the third director to tackle the Planet of the Apes reboot series, and his future with the franchise may extend past this installment. Disney is reportedly interested in making a new trilogy out of the upcoming film, with Ball potentially at the helm of these subsequent films.

What is Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes about?

The official synopsis for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes reads:

Director Wes Ball breathes new life into the global, epic, franchise set several generations in the future following Caesar’s reign, in which apes are the dominant species living harmoniously and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.

We have one main question about the plot: just how many years does Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes start after War for the Planet of the Apes? The wording of it being set “several generations in the future” makes it seem like the time skip is even longer than previously thought. Of course, this raises questions of whether Caesar’s son plays a role in the film or whether it is wholly removed from the time of Caesar.

Still, the confirmation that Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will resemble the world in the original film is fascinating. It creates the opportunity for the film to delve deep into the franchise’s original themes and provide some social commentary. With all the secretiveness around the timeline and who these characters are, there’s a feeling that there’s still more information to come on Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes‘ plot and premise.

(featured image: 20th Century Studios)