The countdown to the next Planet of the Apes film is on. The anticipated third installment in the franchise, War for the Planet of the Apes, follows the events of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the previous blockbuster in the series which earned an impressive $710.6 million worldwide. Now, the hype machine for War is underway, with Fox having released a brand new trailer. Check it out below…
What Just Happened?
Rise of the Planet of the Apes was Caesar’s origin story. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was Caesar’s rise to leadership. And now comes War for the Planet of the Apes, in which the conflict between man and ape comes to a climax.
This will be the story that details how Caesar “becomes the seminal figure in ape history,” says Matt Reeves, the director of the film. He compares Caesar to the ape version of Moses. While Caesar once had resolved to simply co-exist with the humans, in this film, he is going to lead the apes with vengeance. And wholeheartedly apparently, as we deduced with the closing shot of the trailer, which shows Caesar striking a soldier with the end of a rifle.
But there’s more to Caesar’s inner conflict than meets the eye. The synopsis tells us that: “Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts.” This raises a plethora of questions that the film will address.
The Big Bad
Every film needs a villain, and this film clearly has one. In case you don’t remember, the end of the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes told us that the military still exists out there in the world, and they were on their way to San Francisco to terminate the ape enclave. Quite the cliffhanger, and one that setups the next big conflict.
Woody Harrelson play’s the Colonel, but that’s really all we know apart from what’s shown in the trailer. The synopsis does reveal however that he isn’t solitary and that this ruthless man is leading an entire army of humans to take out the apes.
New Poster Reveal
20th Century Fox clearly wants to get us hyped for this film, even though it’s still some time away… They’ve not just released the trailer, but also a fantastic new poster which you can see below. The poster doesn’t reveal anything we don’t know, but it’s magnificently simple. Caesar is posted on his horse with a shotgun strapped to his back.
War for the Planet of the Apes will make its debut in theaters on July 14, 2017. Matt Reeves is back in the director’s chair. The film stars Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, Judy Greer, Karin Konoval, Amiah Miller, and Terry Notary.
