We knew another Planet of the Apes movie was in development, but now it has a title, cast, and a release window. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, a new science fiction movie based on the classic franchise, is well on its way, with Wes Ball in the director’s chair.
This was all revealed on the official Twitter account. Besides the director and title, we got some cast-members too: Owen Teague, Freya Allen, and Peter Macon. Fans will know Teague from the recent horror movie adaptation of It, where he portrayed school bully Patrick Hockstetter. Freya Allen plays Ciri in Netflix series The Witcher, and Peter Macon is one of the main stars of The Orville, as Lt. Commander Bortus.
We don’t learn anything about the plot, other than this is still the same timeline as the previous trilogy of action movies, taking place some years after War for the Planet of the Apes. The release window for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is revealed to be 2024, too, so relatively soon, though that could be any time in the year.
We also got our first look, with concept art from the adventure movie. It shows an ape on horseback, interacting with a large bird, as a ruined, overgrown city stands behind him.
This suggests we could see quite a time jump. War for the Planet of the Apes is set 12 years after Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and the level of degradation is this image looks considerably beyond that. Given the way War ends (no spoilers), it’d make sense to set the next chapter a good deal after, to make sure new stars and characters get proper breathing room.
Matt Reeves oversaw the previous trilogy, but he’s busy in the DCEU with The Batman 2 right now. Ball knows his way around big budget franchising, as he directed The Maze Runner trilogy. He has big shoes to fill nonetheless – we’ll keep you informed. Check out the best monster movies in the meantime.