After seven years, Planet of the Apes fans can finally return to one of the most iconic sci-fi franchises of all time. The latest chapter, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, is now streaming on Disney+! Directed by Wes Ball of The Maze Runner series, this new epic chapter begins hundreds of years after the death of the Caesar we know so well. Unlike the great Caesar who led the apes, stood against humanity, and still sought peace after the events of the trilogy, this film opens from a completely different point of view. In a world where apes have become the dominant species and humans barely survive, a young ape named Noa, who knows nothing of past civilization or the world beyond his village, becomes the audience’s eyes and heart. As he sets out to pursue and inherit Caesar’s legacy, he must confront the rise of a new ape tyrant and his brutal rule. But what is so special about the surviving human woman he meets, Nova, also known as Mae? What makes this film so thought-provoking, and what questions does it raise? Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is now available on Disney+ from August 2, and the full four-film Planet of the Apes reboot series is also available to stream on Disney+, making it the perfect time for a full rewatch.
Image source: Disney+
▼When Caesar’s Legacy Becomes Legend, Is the “New Caesar’s” Beautiful World a Satire of Human Civilization?
The Planet of the Apes reboot series began with humanity developing a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, only for the apes used in experiments to unexpectedly gain heightened intelligence. Among them, Caesar became a defining leader with complex feelings toward humanity. At the end of the trilogy, he left behind a wish for humans and apes to coexist peacefully before making his quiet farewell. This year’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes creates an entirely new era, set hundreds of years after Caesar’s death.
Image source: 20th Century Studios
Apes have become the dominant species in society, while humans have been pushed to the bottom of the age. When the ruthless ape leader Proximus Caesar sets out to hunt humans and apes who oppose him, building an empire of his own, his line “What a wonderful day” becomes, on closer thought, a rather direct satire of the logic behind modern human society. It suggests that the systems and values humanity has built may not be so different from the dictatorship embodied by the film’s main villain.
Image source: 20th Century Studios
The ape protagonist Noa embarks on a difficult and painful journey that will overturn everything he knows about history and the past. As he questions different beliefs and values, he will make a crucial choice that defines the future of both apes and humans. Caesar has become a legendary figure, and the idea that humans and apes can coexist has become something close to myth. Viewers follow Noa as he searches for “Caesar’s legacy.” Will humans and apes being “together” lead to certain death, as Proximus Caesar claims in the trailer? Or is Noa’s side right to believe that “together” is what makes them strong?
Image source: 20th Century Studios
Image source: 20th Century Studios
Will this film become the opening chapter of a world fully ruled by apes, or the beginning of humanity’s counterattack? Or could we even see apes and humans joining forces and fighting side by side? The future of the series is certainly worth watching closely.
Image source: 20th Century Studios
▼Does Endless War Lead to “Evolution” or “Extinction”?
Beyond asking whether humans and apes can coexist, the Planet of the Apes series also throws out a powerful new question through Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. After one epic war after another, does war bring “evolution,” or does it only lead to “extinction”?
Image source: 20th Century Studios
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes presents a world where the advanced civilization once built by humanity has become legend to the apes. At the end of humanity’s pursuit of evolution, did it truly bring the continuation of life and a higher level of civilization? Or, as the setting of this film suggests, was it a path toward self-destruction, one step after another toward the fall of civilization into history? In the conflict about to unfold, humans are no longer even major players on the battlefield. This time, the clash is between two ape factions with opposing beliefs. Yet even as ape civilization begins to develop, if war becomes their chosen method, are the apes simply repeating humanity’s mistakes?
Image source: 20th Century Studios
The trailer’s line, “Do you know the concept of evolution?” is especially thought-provoking. What exactly does “evolution” mean? Conquest, revenge, and all the reasons used to justify war may simply become the start of an endless cycle that drives a species toward extinction. It is a question worth considering while watching the film.
Image source: 20th Century Studios
▼When Humanity Loses Its Former Greatness, Is a Planet Ruled by Apes Really Better?
Who should lead the world? Apes, or humans? Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes depicts a world after apes have taken control, where humans have lost their former achievements and abilities, leaving them at the mercy of ape rule. The film fully conveys humanity’s resentment toward being ruled by apes, but looking at it from another angle, would the world really be better if humans were still in charge? In the film, the declaration that “the law is wrong” when it allows apes to hunt humans is spoken by Noa, an ape calling for equality between humans and apes. It is a clever arrangement that invites us, as humans, to reflect on ourselves. In today’s real world, could humanity honestly say the same thing? Or do human greed, selfishness, and corruption have no end? If apes possess the ability to learn and grow rapidly, and perhaps even preserve a greater sense of goodness than humans, is it really natural that humans should hold the right to rule the world? If you cannot imagine a world led by apes, this film is the place to feel that reality up close.
Image source: 20th Century Studios
Image source: 20th Century Studios
▼Is the Mystery Behind Humanity’s Survival Hidden in “Her”?
The film also introduces a thrilling new story angle: the idea of the hunt being reversed. In the human world of the past, apes were the ones being hunted, and the ones fighting back against that hunt. But compared with the first three Planet of the Apes reboot films, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes becomes a true turning point where the power dynamic between apes and humans is completely reversed. Over 300 years, humans have continued to decline while apes have flourished. Humanity has officially become the prey of apes. Another defining feature of this series is that it has always guided viewers through the story from the apes’ point of view. In the previous trilogy, humans were powerful opponents on equal footing. This time, through the character Nova, also known as Mae, the film lets viewers experience what it feels like for humans to be hunted in reverse.
Image source: 20th Century Studios
At the beginning of the series, “intelligent apes were experimented on and studied by humans.” In this film, that relationship is reversed into “intelligent humans being hunted and studied by apes.” The active and passive roles have completely switched. What secret is hidden within the key character Nova, also known as Mae? Is the key to humanity’s survival truly in “her” hands? And how will her existence affect the fate of the apes?
Image source: 20th Century Studios
▼Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes | Latest Trailer | The Four-Film Saga Now Streaming Exclusively on Disney+
After watching the trailer, many fans are probably wondering why those two apes keep fighting over a human woman. Jokes aside, if you want to know why Nova, also known as Mae, is so important and what shocking developments she will bring to the story, head to Disney+ and explore the new mystery of the Planet of the Apes.
▼The Epic Sci-Fi Classic Planet of the Apes Series | Four Films Now Streaming Exclusively on Disney+
In addition to its many thought-provoking themes, the film also delivers the scale and excitement of a blockbuster. The Planet of the Apes series has long been known for its remarkably refined motion-capture CG effects, and each installment has become more detailed and emotionally expressive than the last. Returning after seven years, this new chapter raises both the emotion and spectacle even further. The ape characters’ facial structures are modeled closely on the actors themselves, allowing even the subtlest facial changes to communicate their most genuine emotions. With Wes Ball of The Maze Runner series at the helm, this is without question one of the year’s major sci-fi action films. Fans of action and adventure should not miss it. What choice will Noa ultimately make? What secret is Nova hiding? And where will the future of humans and apes lead? Subscribe to Disney+ and uncover the mystery.
The globally renowned sci-fi film series Planet of the Apes is now available on Disney+. Visit www.disneyplus.com, or download the Disney+ app from the App Store or Google Play to subscribe.
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