Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes trailer breakdown: 3 key takeaways

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the fourth film in the reboot of the Planet of the Apes franchise, has dropped its official trailer. The trailer shows the franchise's underlying theme: human-ape collaboration. As apes dominate their world, the villain, Proximus Caesar, bends the rules and teachings to fuel his lust for power. The protagonist ape, Noa, takes a stand against the establishment to help the persecuted human, Mae.

For the newly indicted fans of the franchise, the American science-fiction is adapted from Piere Boulle's 1963 French novel La Planéte des Singes. The book had its first film adaptation in 1968. Following its success, the franchise developed live-action series, sequels, television series, and more.

The first five English movies were produced by 20th Century Fox, which Disney later acquired. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is produced by 20th Century Studios under Disney and is slated for release on May 10, 2024.

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3 major takeaways from Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

The trailer shows an ape protagonist fighting for human rights (Image via 20th Century Studios)

The upcoming movie is slated to be part of a trilogy and has a separate storyline. This movie is expected to be the connecting factor for the other movies. The official trailer released by 20th Century Studios provides a sneak peek into the plot.

1) Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is based in the distant future from the previous movies

Well-planned battles were part of the trailer (Image via 20th Century Studios)

While it is difficult to exactly predict the timeline of the upcoming movie in its franchise, it is positioned in the future. There is approximately a thousand years gap between Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes. Since this movie has events happening after that, it is more into the future.

Other pointers towards a futuristic ape planet include a well-organized society and advanced, strategic warfare, including bombings. Moreover, many apes seem to have a distant recollection of Caesar, leading to the confirmation of the movie's timeline.

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2) Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has a structured ape society

The trailer shows an advanced ape society (Image via 20th Century Studios)

The society depicted in the upcoming movie seems to be divided into two types of apes, where the villain, Proximus Caesar, bends original Caesar's teachings to gain and hold power over other apes. He also seems intelligent enough to manipulate his subordinates to his benefit.

The protagonist, Noa, belongs to another race that is subdued and hurt by Proximus. The first Planet of the Apes also depicted two ape clans, with one showing mercy towards the humans. In the upcoming movie, Noa is shown helping Mae as he fights the vile Proximus.

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3) Humans live in hiding in the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Noa is helping a persecuted Mae in the trailer (Image via 20th Century Studios)

In the upcoming movie trailer, Noa is shown accidentally discovering underground passages and caves, where he discovers books and signs of human existence. This makes it clear that humans went into hiding as the apes rose to power. Also, a children's picture book shows the past when humans caged apes in zoos.

The surviving humans live in small clusters and are hunted by the more powerful apes. One scene shows a horde of laborers being used for mass work. It may be that humans are used for menial labor in the ape kingdom.

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What more does the trailer of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes promise?

The trailer provides many more hints to the plot. For one, ape society seems to be evolving with more rules and better communication, including brainwashing and manipulations. Secondly, Noa gives a "Caesar" effect of the sympathetic, upright, logical, and brave hero. He realizes that the elders have not told everything and declares that apes hunting humans "is wrong."

In the trailer, many more apes seem to be able to speak. Also, broken-down remnants of human achievements are shown throughout, justifying the previous movie's claim that the Simian Flu had eliminated most of the population with only a few survivors.

Wes Ball directs the movie, which has Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, and Peter Macon in lead roles. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes may explain and connect many of the plot points of the previous movies in the franchise. The movie will arrive in theatres on May 10, 2024.