May 2, 2024 (TCL Chinese Theatre)
May 10, 2024 (United States)
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a 2024 American science fiction action film directed by Wes Ball and written by Josh Friedman. It is the fourth installment in the Planet of the Apesreboot film series and the tenth film overall, serving as a standalone sequel to War for the Planet of the Apes (2017). The film stars Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon, and William H. Macy. It takes place many generations after the events of War and follows Noa (Teague), a young chimpanzee hunter who embarks on a journey alongside Mae (Allan), a human woman, to determine the future for apes and humans alike.
Development on a new Planet of the Apes film began in April 2019, following Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox, with Ball attached as writer and director that December. Much of the screenplay was written during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with casting commencing in June 2022, following the screenplay's completion. Teague was cast in the lead role that August, with the film's title and additional casting announced in the following months. Principal photography began in October 2022 in Sydney and wrapped in February 2023, with a budget of $120–160 million.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes premiered at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on May 2, 2024, and was released by 20th Century Studios in the United States on May 10. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed over $397 million worldwide. It received a nomination for Best Visual Effects at the 97th Academy Awards. A sequel is in development for an expected 2027 release.
Storyline
Generations after Caesar's death, apes have become the dominant species on Earth, while surviving humans have become feral.
A young chimpanzee named Noa from a falconry-practicing clan, prepares for a coming-of-age ceremony by collecting golden eagle eggs with his friends, Anaya and Soona. A human scavenger follows Noa home and inadvertently cracks his egg during a scuffle, before fleeing. While searching for a replacement egg, Noa encounters ape raiders with electric staff. While Noa hides from them, the apes follow his horse back to his clan. Noa hurries home to find his village burning; the gorilla general Sylva kills Noa's father, Koro, before dropping Noa from a high platform.
Noa awakens to find that his clan has been abducted. He buries Koro and sets out to rescue his clan. Noa is joined by Raka, an orangutan, who tells Noa about Caesar. The apes notice the human scavenger is following them and Raka offers her food and a blanket, naming her Nova. When the trio encounters feral humans with Grant's zebras, Sylva's raiders attack them. Noa and Raka rescue Nova, who to their surprise, is intelligent and can speak. She reveals that her name is Mae and that the raiders took Noa's clan to a beachfront settlement outside an old human vault. As they cross a bridge, they are ambushed by Sylva. In the ensuing fight, Raka saves Mae from drowning, but is swept away by the rapids. Noa and Mae are captured and taken to the apes settlement.
Noa reunites with his clan and is introduced to the apes' king, Proximus Caesar. Proximus has enslaved other clans, forcing them to work on opening the vault so that he can access the human technology locked inside. Proximus invites Noa to dinner with Mae and Trevathan, another speaking human , who teaches Proximus about human history. Proximus believes that Noa's intuitiveness could help open the vault and warns him that Mae only has her own agenda. Noa confronts Mae, demanding the truth in exchange for help. Mae discloses knowledge of a hidden entrance to the vault and seeks a book capable of restoring speech to humans. Noa agrees to help her enter and destroy the vault. Noa, Mae, Soona and Anaya secretly plant explosives around the sea walls that protect the settlement. Trevathan catches them and intends to warn Proximus, but Mae strangles him to death.
The group enters the vault, finding weapons and Mae's "book", which is actually a satellite decryption key. The apes discover picture books depicting humans as the once-dominant species and apes in cages at a zoo. As the group makes their way out of the bunker, they are confronted by Proximus and his followers. Lightning, one of Proximus's lieutenants, threatens to kill Soona; but Mae kills him with a handgun, triggers the explosives, flooding the bunker with the apes inside. Mae flees the settlement while the apes climb to higher ground through the bunker. Noa is pursued by Sylva, whom he traps and leaves to drown. Noa then escapes the bunker but is attacked by Proximus. Noa leads his clan in summoning their eagles to attack Proximus and send him falling from a cliff into the sea.
As Noa's clan returns to rebuild their home, Mae arrives to bid farewell to Noa, secretly holding a handgun behind her back. She explains that she destroyed the bunker to prevent the apes from obtaining its weapons. Given their disparities, Noa and Mae question whether apes and humans can co-exist peacefully. As Noa takes Soona to look through a telescope that he had found, Mae travels to an intelligent human settlement at a satellite base. She delivers the decryption key which allows them to reactivate the satellites and make contact with another human settlement.
Also See
- Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
- War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024) (TV Spots)
Movie Trailer
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024) (Trailers)