Planet of the Apes franchise is not going to end its run with the fourth film, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. The producers recently revealed in an interview that the original plan for the franchise was to do nine films. Although many expected the films to drop significantly in quality by this time, the films are surprisingly maintaining a regular good standard. However, fans still believe that aiming for nine films might be stretching the luck of the films.
The latest film in the franchise was the first one not to feature Andy Serkis in the role of the intelligent chimpanzee. It starred Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, and William H. Macy. The film is written by Josh Friedman and directed by Wes Ball.
Fans Are Not Happy That Planet Of The Apes Aim To Make 5 More Films
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the writers-cum-producers of Planet of the Apes, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, revealed their plans for the future of the franchise. The duo revealed that they intended to do five more films in the franchise after the current film, which hit theaters this weekend. Fans were not too thrilled to hear the update from the producers.
One fan on X shared that the producers might be stretching the franchise too thin by planning more films to bring in more cash. Another fan sarcastically shared whether the final three movies would lead into the original trilogy of movies. One fan called to cancel all the other projects and stop making the films when the franchise is still making some money out of it.
Another fan also had a sarcastic response to how the producers planned to move ahead with their project. They shared that while the films currently focused on the apes, the final trilogy would probably include time traveling of the apes. Some fans also shared that they stopped caring for the films right after James Franco disappeared from the franchise. Some fan reactions read:
Ok they might be stretching it 💀
— 𝕏 Meme Team (@XMemeTeam) May 10, 2024
And they lead into the originals?
— Cody West (@CWest2K19) May 10, 2024
Just cancel them all
— . (@goatinelli_) May 10, 2024
This trilogy happening rn will probably just focus on the apes and then the final trilogy will probably be when they do the time travel stuff
— Ty (@tydriscoll7) May 10, 2024
We stopped caring after James Franco disappeared
— nnyriik (@kiirynn) May 10, 2024
Andy Serkis‘ Planet of the Apes films were one of the strongest trilogies in terms of critical and commercial success. While the first film was helmed by Rupert Wyatt, the second and third films were directed by Matt Reeves. According to The Numbers, the first film collected $471 million, the second film collected $710.6 million, and the third film grossed $489.6 million.
The Performance of Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes On Box Office Debut
While the exact debut numbers of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes are not available at the time, the film has already made $6.6 million from its Thursday night preview shows. According to Variety, this is the highest preview number among the Planet of the Apes films. The earlier record holder, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, collected $4.1 million in previews.
The second film from Reeves went on to make $72 million in its opening weekend, the highest among the films. Earlier, box office predictions suggested that the film would make $50 to $55 million during its opening weekend, just like its previous three entries.
Wes Ball’s new film is set 300 years after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes, where the apes fully control the world. It tells the story of how Noa, a chimp with a heart, sets out to protect his family and a young human named Mae from the despotic ruler, Proximus Caesar.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is now running successfully in theaters. The other films in the Planet of the Apes franchise are now available for streaming on Hulu.
