Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes director on when to ignore fan theories

It’s safe to say there have been a lot of fan theories about Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes — for director Wes Ball, it’s important to know when to ignore them and when to take note.

There are definite pros and cons to fan theories. On the plus side, they demonstrate fans’ enthusiasm, but on the other, they can distract attention from a new film or series (especially when they’re seemingly plucked from thin air). 

Both sides were seen with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the latest movie in the long-running sci-fi franchise. 

Using their knowledge of the Planet of the Apes timeline and themes that have been explored up to this point, fans have thrown about ideas ranging from time travel to space exploration — some even suggested lead human Mae (Freya Allan) could be an astronaut. 

Dexerto spoke with Wes ahead of the release of the new flick, asking him about this world, and his experience helming the Maze Runner film trilogy certainly prepared him. 

“We’re certainly aware of it. And I had gotten used to some of that stuff with the Maze Runner. There’s a really small but diehard fanbase for those movies, you know, and so I learned a bit about how to wrestle with that but also sometimes ignore it,” he told us. 

That being said, Wes did reveal that he knows when to listen, and is hoping to be able to satisfy the fans with additional Planet of the Apes movies in the future. 

“It’s also important sometimes, too, because if you try to please everyone, you please no one. But I listened to everyone,” he added. 

“I understand where everyone wants to go, what they’re looking forward to, and we’ve got plans. Hopefully we’ll be able to make more movies and to try to appease everyone’s desires.”

As for the potential for a Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes sequel, Wes said they’ve got a “bunch of ideas” — but they’ve got to get a “great script” together first. 

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is in cinemas now. Find out if you need to watch the other Planet of the Apes movies beforehand. If and when you’re ready for spoilers, you can find the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ending explained.