What’s Going on With Caesar’s Family in ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’?

Planet of the Apes sees the downfall of humanity and the rise of ape society, and Caesar is the first ape to receive the above-normal intelligence that kicks things off. But what about Caesar’s children as we get into Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes?

We are first introduced to Caesar, played through motion capture by Andy Serkis, in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the 2011 reboot of the Planet of the Apes franchise. After his birth and the death of his mother, he is taken in by Will Rodman (James Franco), the developer of the ALZ-112 viral cure that gave Caesar his intelligence. He is raised inside Will’s home, but after he attacks a neighbor for threatening Will’s dementia-ridden father, Caeser is sent to live at the San Bruno Primate Shelter, where he is bullied by the other apes and by the human handlers.

Using his intelligence, he escapes and gains access to ALZ-113 (a stronger version of the drug), then releases it among the primates. He then faces off against one particularly nasty handler (Tom Felton), uttering the word “No” before leading the apes away from the city and into the Muir woods.

The next film in the franchise takes us 10 years into the future, in a world where much of the human population has been decimated by the simian flu caused by ALZ-113. Now, Caesar is a little older, mated to another ape named Cordelia, and they have two sons together, the eldest Blue Eyes and their newborn Cornelius (who is born during the film). The family is not able to live in peace, though, as their home is under threat from remaining humans as well as betrayal from within.

The third film, War for the Planet of the Apes, is set another two years on, when war has finally reached the ape community. Early on in the film, Blue Eyes is killed, alongside his mother, when Colonel J. Wesley McCullough (Woody Harrelson) mistakes him for his father. Only a still-young Cornelius escapes. At the end of the film, when it is revealed that Caesar has been critically wounded, his friend Maurice promises to continue to raise Cornelius and tell him of what his father did.

Fun Fact: In the original films (starting with 1968’s Planet of the Apes), Cornelius is one of the main ape characters, and it is his son who is named Caesar.

Are Caesar’s descendants in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes?

The most recent addition to the franchise, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, is set far enough into the future that we have left Caesar and his family well behind, though the legend of Caesar lives on. We do not hear of any family members or relations of Caesar in the film. Andy Serkis is no longer a featured actor in this film, either, handing over the reins to Owen Teague, who plays the main character, the young chimpanzee hunter Noa.

Who plays Caesar’s sons?

In Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Blue Eyes is portrayed by actor Nick Thurston, who lends his body and voice to the character, which was created using motion capture. In the next film, the actor is Max Lloyd-Jones, while the young Cornelius is portrayed by Devyn Dalton, a Canadian actress, dancer, voiceover artist, and stuntwoman.

(featured image: 20th Century Fox)