There are many great movie trilogies: Back to The Future, The Dark Knight, The Man with No Name, and many, many more. The recent Planet of The Apes trilogy was critically acclaimed for its intriguing story and for using the same motion capture technology as used for the Na’vi in James Cameron’s Avatar film series. Following Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), and War For The Planet of The Apes (2017), it was unknown whether a fourth film would follow the satisfying conclusion. The ideas for a fourth film were discussed, but the film lagged in development for years and then was caught in the middle of Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019.

Finally, after years of development, a fourth film titled Kingdom of The Planet of the Apes was announced. The new movie is set 300 years after War For The Planet of The Apes and will follow an entirely new set of characters. 

The first trailer for the film was released on November 2nd, 2023. Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver–who worked on the Avatar films–are returning to write and produce this film after having done so on the previous three installments. Josh Friedman is also a writer for the film. Friedman’s other projects include Star Trek 4, Avatar: The Way of Water, Avatar 3, Avatar 4, and Avatar 5. Matt Reeves is not returning to direct Kingdom of the Planet of Apes after having directed Dawn of Planet of The Apes and War For The Planet of The Apes. Since Reeves is currently busy with the new Batman movies, Wes Ball (Maze Runner) will helm the film. John Paesano will compose the score for the film, having previously worked with Wes Ball on the Maze Runner films. Paesano replaces Michael Giacchino, who had composed the score in collaboration with Matt Reeves for Dawn of The Planet of The Apes and War For The Planet of Apes.

The official synopsis states: “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” (20th Century Studios).

It will be interesting to see how this film performs at the box office. The other three installments grossed north of $400 million, with Dawn of The Planet of The Apes grossing $710 million globally.

So, if you want to be a part of the next step of Caesar’s legacy, Kingdom of The Planet of The Apes arrives only in theaters on May 10th, 2024.