Rise of the Planet of the Apes starring Andy Serkis as the iconic character of the franchise, Caesar continued the legacy of the movie with several later installments, including War for the Planet of the Apes, partnering with Matt Reeves. With Wes Ball reviving the franchise with the latest installment of the 20th Century Studios movie series, the original Caesar gave his verdict on the new movie.
Ball’s latest movie, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes stars You Hurt My Feelings actor Owen Teague alongside Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon, and William H. Macy. The Josh Friedman-penned movie has created quite a buzz ahead of it’s release and Serkis and Reeves’ comments on the movie might help it get further attention.
Andy Serkis Commented On Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes certainly has been an ambitious project of Wes Ball who has The Maze Runner franchise to his credit. Of course, Ball’s sequel was set several years after Andy Serkis’ Caesar, leader of the apes in his three movies from the franchise with Owen Teague playing a young ape. But the essence of Serkis’ character remained, “Caesar is very much a character in this story, he’s an important character in this story,” Ball told The Hollywood Reporter. “So we wanted to make sure we were getting it right,” he added.
“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. 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.”
Getting the stamp of approval from Serkis was definitely a confidence booster for the director, which also revealed Luther: The Fallen Sun actor’s humble and supportive nature. Serkis’ comment may also draw at least a few more fans of the franchise to the theater upon its release.
Owen Teague Also Got Insights From Andy Serkis And Matt Reeves’ Comment On The Movie
Teague who went to ape school to learn the behavior of the animals to make an acute impression of his character on screen also had a remarkable conversation in regards to the movie. “I’ve looked up to him since I was a little kid,” Teague told THR. “And I wanted to take everything that he was going to give me,” the 25-year-old added. The actor further revealed that Serkis eased up performance capture technology to understand it better.
“[The technology] is just acting really, there’s no mystery. It’s not about impersonating an ape, it’s really about finding the truth of the character and pursuing that,” Teague shared.
Serkis’ support was not the only thing the new movie has enjoyed. Matt Reeves, who directed the 2017 movie of the franchise War for the Planet of the Apes, also extended his appreciation to Ball. “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,” Ball revealed.
“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. And the same thing with Andy, when we got him involved.”
The trailer and the very look of the movie are certainly promising, offering fans a new saga after Caesar’s reign, exploring further possibilities amid the classic human and ape conflict in the movie series. Also, the movie will open doors to new potential extensions with more installments.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will hit theaters on 10 May 2024.
