Following the cult ’70’s film series Planet of the Apes and Tim Burton’s 2001 remake, the franchise was rebooted in 2011 with Rise of the Planet of the Apes directed by Rupert Wyatt. This was succeeded by two more sequels which were helmed by The Batman director Matt Reeves in 2014 and 2017 respectively.
The 4th installment in the reboot series titled Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes directed by Wes Ball will continue to develop on the intense human-ape war. While the film is already expected to push the technical boundaries to rival Avatar 2, one important aspect of the saga that was introduced in Rupert Wyatt’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes could take centerstage in this film.
The 4th Planet Of The Apes Film Could Shed Crucial Light On the Simian Flu Virus
In 2011’s Rise Of The Planet of the Apes, director Rupert Wyatt tackled an important phenomenon that gave the apes the power to dominate over humans. The deadly virus that caused the Simian Flu in the apes was also the reason that most of humanity was wiped out.
This concept, which was also touched upon in the subsequent two films directed by Matt Reeves, did not contribute to the core of the ape-human feud. But if Reeves’ 2016 interview ahead of the release of the 3rd film is to be analyzed, Wes Ball’s 2024 movie could put this conflict front and center with an important revelation regarding the virus.
In a chat with Slash Film, The Batman director spoke of the direction the saga was heading in and also touched upon questions regarding the impact of the Simian Flu on humans and apes. While Dawn of the Planet of the Apes saw the destruction of humanity, Reeves explained the exact consequences of the virus on certain humans and how it could play out in the future.
“Such a small number of humans who are left. Everyone got it, though. So the ones who are left, the humans who are left, they were immune because they’re carrying the virus. They’re all carriers. But none of the suffered the same effects that destroyed the rest of the world. So they actually do have the virus, but they’re immune to its effects. So it’s no longer an ongoing thing where they’re worried about getting the virus, they all are just carriers but immune.”
But the climax of War for the Planet of the Apes reveals that the Simian Flu has mutated inside the body of a little girl, which then allowed the virus the ability to infect previously immune humans that Reeves had spoken about. It now remains to be seen how this aspect plays out in Wes Ball’s upcoming film.
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes Set To Give Competition To Avatar 2 With Its Special Effects
James Cameron is considered a pioneer when it comes to visualizing a film and incorporating jaw- dropping special effects into his narrative. From Terminator to Titanic to his epic fantasy masterpiece Avatar, Cameron has always pushed the envelope when it comes to the technical aspects of cinema.
With Avatar 2, the Oscar winner stunned audiences once again with the expert use of CGI that completely created the ethereal water world of the Na’Vi. Now, Cameron’s labor of love will have stiff competition from Wes Ball’s upcoming film Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes which is the 4th installment in the reboot series that began in 2011.
Similar to Avatar 2, Ball’s film has also extensively used CGI to create mindblowing effects under water along with the simulation of the apes. Speaking to Collider, The Maze Runner director elaborated on working with visual effects company Wētā FX who also collaborated with Cameron to create the world for Avatar 2.
In doing so, Ball also stuck his neck out to state that audiences would be blown away by what they had achieved with Wētā FX, which was a whole new frontier of technical prowess that has never been seen until now.
“People don’t fully realize it because we’ve managed to avoid a lot in the trailers. But yeah, the waterwork we got to obviously use a lot of what [Avatar] The Way of Water did, but put in CG apes, which is a whole new frontier for Wētā, I think. The amount of simulation data far exceeds anything they’ve done previously. It’s wild.”
The Ruin filmmaker further explained that every aspect of water seen in the film was created by CGI which was an extensive and laborious process that took over a year to master.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will release in theaters on 10th May, 2024.
