Cult franchises are definitely popular in cinemas! We can no longer count the sagas that have come out of the closet to be brought back to the big screen through prequels, sequels and other “reboots”. And this month of May is yet another great example, since two legendary epics are returning to the cinema: that of “Mad Max”, through the next “spin-off” “Furiosa”, as well as “Planet of the Apes”, with “ The New Kingdom.” This opus, the tenth in the franchise, is only a starting point for a new story that Disney plans to develop in length through a new trilogy…
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Here we are 300 years after the reign of Caesar, the heroic primate that we followed through the three films produced by Fox between 2011 and 2017. The balance of power has long since been reversed: while humans have regressed to the In the wild, apes consolidated their power and became the dominant species on the planet. The supremacy of men is nothing more than a distant legend, a myth told without much belief in it.
It is in this world that Noa, a young chimpanzee, grew up, supported by his faithful friend, an orangutan named Raka. His curiosity and his spirit eager for discoveries will then lead him to question the order of things and this forgotten past, even if it means getting in the way of a tyrannical leader. King Proximus Caesar indeed has dreams of grandeur and technological progress. Governing by fear, he intends to create a real empire and sets out to conquer new territories by force…
Towards a new trilogy
“Planet of the Apes: The New Kingdom” intends to follow in the footsteps of the last trilogy dedicated to Caesar, while adopting a new vision, as explained by its director Wes Ball, who takes up the torch of the franchise for Disney after Rupert Wyatt (“Origins” in 2011), then Matt Reeves (“The Showdown” in 2014 and “Supremacy” in 2017). In an interview with “Empire” published in December, the filmmaker to whom we owe “The Labyrinth” declared “We have big ideas that we want to develop while ensuring that we respect the legacy of this movies. I’m already discussing the next story with the studio. The last three feature films in the saga were about the end of something. It was a sort of rereading of Moses, on the end of humanity. We thought: “From these ashes, we will build something new. » This film will therefore be more of the start of something. » In fact, a new trilogy is already in the pipeline.
New blood
Who says new story, also says new casting! It is indeed up to young Owen Teague, aged 25 and seen in the horror saga “It”, to play the character of Noa. We find alongside him in particular Kevin Durand (“Locke and Key”) and Freya Allan (“The Witcher”). Conversely, while Andy Serkis, the interpreter of Golum in “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” and of the chimpanzee Caesar in the previous “Planet of the Apes” trilogy, is the reference actor when it comes to “motion capture”, he won’t be there. However, Wes Ball assured that the actor had been involved in preparing the actors to become larger-than-life apes.
