Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes debuted its first teaser earlier today with its breathtaking CGI and a host of new characters, starring critically acclaimed talent like Freya Allen, Kevin Durand, and Peter Mason. However, the teaser still feels empty without Andy Serkis, whose character closed out the last trilogy with his tragic death.
Without talent like Andy Serkis and Matt Reeves helping the project, the film has much to prove to its audience. The story will follow Noa, a young ape born many generations after Ceaser, played by Owen Teague via motion capture. Principal photography for the project began in October of 2022 and concluded earlier this year in February.
Also Read: Andy Serkis Played CGI Ape in $562M Jack Black Movie 6 Years Before Planet of the Apes
Freya Allen is just one of the host of new talent on the franchise
While the Andy Serkis is no longer attached to the franchise, the studio has onboarded a host of new face franchises. The Witcher alum Freya Allan is slated to play Mae, a feral young human being. The film, with its leather-clad feral humans, looks a lot more like the original Planet of the Apes films, produced in 1968.
Joining Allan in the endeavor is Kevin Durand of X-Men Origins: Wolverine fame, playing the character of Proximus Ceaser, a leader of a coastal clan of apes who are hunting for human technology. Also joining the cast is Peter Mason from The Orville, playing the character of Raka, a wise orangutan ally of young Noa.
This will be the first movie in the Planet of the Apes reboot that will be launched under Disney’s authority. The last film in the franchise, War for the Planet of the Apes, came out in 2017, two years before Disney acquired 21st Century Fox.
Andy Serkis has more than one ape connection
Andy Serkis distinguished himself as Ceaser in the three Planet of the Apes series of films. However, it wasn’t the first time the actor played an ape. Serkis also has been credited with providing motion capture for Peter Jackson’s 2005 monster film, King Kong. But the connection with the classic monster the property doesn’t end there.
In War of the Planet of the Apes, Serkis became two of a kind when he was joined by Terry Notary, stunt coordinator, and Motion Capture Performer, who played the role of Kong in 2017’s Kong: Skull Island for Universal’s Monsterverse franchise.
Both actors have had a connection with the giant ape, albeit Notary’s kong was at least thrice as big as the ape when it was played by Serkis. Kong also served to be an epic re-imagining of King Kong and its themes of colonization, where Kong becomes a defender of his home rather than a colonized monster who is taken from his home against his will.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will similarly flip the script from its first film, leaving a civilization of Apes to deal with feral humans, rather than the other way around. Here is the teaser trailer:
