Director reveals Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes connection to original

In an exclusive interview with Dexerto, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes director Wes Ball opened up about his movie’s key connection to the 1968 original. 

The Planet of the Apes franchise will continue with the fourth entry in the rebooted film series. Set years after the reign of Caesar, we’re introduced to a new group of primates (some good, some bad) who are sent on a journey that will shape the future for humans and apes alike. 

It goes without saying that the rebooted Planet of the Apes film series is a far cry from its campy predecessors, aiming for a more grounded and emotionally resonant storytelling style alongside cutting-edge visual effects. But there’s still no matching the indelible impact Franklin J. Schaffner’s 1968 original had on cinema as a whole.

Despite being two completely separate films, there are elements of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ story that either mirror or reverse aspects of the original, something Dexerto asked filmmaker Wes Ball to elaborate on. 

“That was the fun of it,” Wes tells us. “Even in the Ceasar trilogy, right? It’s like it starts in the human world, and then the ape comes into it and it becomes an ape story. We have this similar kind of thing here, where we start in the ape world and then this human comes into it, and it becomes this larger thing.” 

The filmmaker went on to say, “These movies function in the way of how humans and apes coexist and how they work together, and all the conflict and drama that comes from that. And so that’s what our hopes are on this film — that it’s really a human and ape story by the end of the movie.”

Ultimately, the “heart of these movies” remains the same, says Wes. “Can apes and humans live together? Can they coexist? That’s what all these movies are about.”

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes drops in UK cinemas on May 9 and in US cinemas on May 10. You can find more movies to watch this month here, as well as films heading to streaming in May.