Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes director Wes Ball feels grateful for Andy Serkis and Matt Reeves for their contribution to his work on the latest installment of the famed franchise. Serkis previously portrayed the chimpanzee Caesar, while Reeves helmed Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017).
Both the actor and The Batman director are no longer part of the new film, but they have more input into the project than they imagined.
Andy Serkis Showed Genuine Support For Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
During the Los Angeles premiere of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, director Wes Ball recalled to The Hollywood Reporter how Matt Reeves offered his support for the new film.
“I had dinner with Matt because I had known him from our movie Mouse Guard together, and I told him all these ideas we were doing. He was literally about to get on a plane to go do Batman, and after that dinner, I felt like we were ready to go make this movie and have the support to just go for it.”
Andy Serkis, on the other hand, made sure that the characters would be portrayed perfectly, so he offered his time and effort in perusing the script and even looking at the designs.
“Caesar is very much a character in this story, he’s an important character in this story, so we wanted to make sure we were getting it right. Andy is just a nice dude — he read the script, listened to me babble on about what we wanted to do with the story, showed him all the concept art, just nothing but support.”
Ball knew that Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes had to make an impressive impact, a fresh take on the franchise but still an homage to the original films.
“He understood that we had to be kind of courageous and brave and do what we were trying to do here. When I finally showed the movie to Andy and he wrote me a very nice email and gave me the thumbs up, that was everything to me.”
Of course, getting the praise of the veterans was the most essential part of the production. Ball knew he had hit the mark once Serkis gave him the seal of approval.
Wes Ball Had Doubts Making Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
As with any franchise, Ball has no clue whether the audience will appreciate the movie. He admitted trying to give it “a different set of characters, a different type of story, a different look” to set it apart from the others. He also shared via Comic Book:
“We tried to exist in both places. The two pillars. The Caesar trilogy and we’ve got the ‘68, and we’re trying to be somewhere in the middle between those two.”
The director confessed that it was a challenge to make a fourth film after a trilogy had been done, but having more stories to tell was what motivated him to push through.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes arrives in theaters on May 8, 2024.
