Is there life after Caesar? That’s the big question for Wes Ball’s (The Maze Runner) franchise restart. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is tasked not only with following one of the strongest fantasy trilogies of recent times, but with moving forward without Andy Serkis’ pivotal simian protagonist.
Beginning with a sombre coda to 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes, KotPotA jumps forward “many generations later” to an ape-ruled planet that has largely forgotten Caesar’s benevolent teachings. As much as young chimpanzee Noa (Owen Teague) would like to live out his life in eagle-rearing ignorance, however, he can’t prevent the outside world paying him a visit that ends with his village in fiery ruins and most of his clan incarcerated.
