Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes director Wes Ball explained why the previous trilogy’s star, Andy Serkis, did not return for the latest installment in the franchise.
“We talked about it, for sure. Like, ‘Could you play another ape character?’ I entertained that thought for a long time, because I thought it would be f***ing cool. And Matt [Reeves] would always say, ‘Andy is the best actor I’ve ever worked with,'” Ball said in an interview with /Film. “He’s just too iconic, in a way. So we decided it’s probably best to think about future movies where maybe he can come in.”
The legendary motion capture actor best known for Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the title role in Peter Jackson‘s King Kong originated the role of the ape Caesar in 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Caesar began as Will Rodman’s (James Franco) test subject for the ALZ-112 Alzheimer’s cure — and evolved into the leader of ape escapees from a San Francisco primate center. In 2014’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Caesar, now a husband and father, clashed with fellow primate Koba over his compassion towards a group of surviving humans. Caesar’s final appearance in 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes saw him lead the apes to freedom from the Alpha-Omega military unit. He subsequently died from his battle wounds.
Despite Serkis’ absence from Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the actor gave his advice and support to the latest movie’s new star, Owen Teague, who plays the young ape Noah.
“I Zoomed with [Serkis] and he said, ‘How can I help,'” Teague recalled. “He gave me a lot of ape-related advice. He said, ‘You’re not impersonating an ape. You’re putting on a costume of that character.’ So it becomes a really internal process, as opposed to an imitation.”
What is Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes about?
The official synopsis reads: “Director Wes Ball breathes new life into the global, epic, franchise set several generations in the future following Caesar’s reign, in which apes are the dominant species living harmoniously and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.”
Teague headlines the latest Apes movie alongside Freya Allan (The Witcher), Peter Macon (The Orville), Eka Darville (Marvel’s Jessica Jones), Kevin Durand (Swamp Thing), Travis Jeffery (Preacher), Neil Sandilands (The Flash), Sara Wiseman (Power Rangers Dino Fury), Lydia Peckham (Cowboy Bebop), Ras-Samuel Welda’abzgi (The Clearing), William H. Macy (Mystery Men), and Dichen Lachman (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.).
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is scheduled for release in theaters on May 24, 2024.
