Summary
- “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” sets up a new trilogy post-Caesar, focusing on new protagonist Noa and his journey.
- The film’s daring ending paves the way for a major shift in the series, exploring the dynamics between humans and apes.
- A human rebellion subplot is hinted at, potentially leading towards a conflict between apes and the remaining human survivors.
Warning: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes not only looks to follow up on the Caesar trilogy of Planet of the Apes films that ran from 2011 to 2017, but also serves as the first chapter in a new planned trilogy. Set 300 years after Caesar’s death, the film sees a hero’s journey for the new protagonist Noa (Owen Teague), a young ape who, after his home was destroyed and his people taken by a tyrant ape named Promixus Caesar (Kevin Durand), embarks on a quest to save his family. Along his journey, he meets a wise orangutan named Raka (Peter Macon) and a human girl named Mae (Freya Allan), who helps him save his family. Mae is different from any other human that the apes have encountered, and she is hiding a secret that will shape the world and the franchise forward.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a worthy entry in the franchise, and its ending is one of the most daring in the entire franchise. While audiences watched the Caesar trilogy, knowing it would inevitably culminate in the iconic Planet of the Apes from the original film rising in some form, this fourth film has a clear path to forge but also untested waters. Where does the series go now that the apes are ruling the planet? Will audiences care if there are no humans? Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes‘ final scene sets up a major status quo change for the series and sets up a new trilogy in some exciting ways. Here is how the ending of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes lays the groundwork for a new trilogy and what it means for the franchise.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Ending, Explained
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes sees Noa and Mae team up to stop the evil tyrant Proximus Caesar from getting into a vault containing human weapons like guns and tanks. Mae shows Noa and his two ape friends, Anaya and Soona, a secret entrance into the facility that Proximus does not know about. They sneak in, and while the apes look over the military facility and get a glimpse of pre-ape civilization, they find a children’s picture book that shows apes in cages. Mae sneaks off to grab two items. One is a hard drive, which she described to Noa earlier on as a book that will help humans speak again. The other item she grabs is a gun.
The group’s plan is to open the gate that Proximus has been trying to break into from inside the base while using explosives to blow up the makeshift dam Proximus has forced the apes to build to submerge the facility in water, making sure Proximus will never gain the weapons. Yet when they open the gate, Proximus and his forces are waiting for them, and he has one of his ape generals hold Noa’s mother hostage, threatening to kill her if Noa doesn’t turn on Mae for him. Mae pulls out the gun and shoots the guard. Despite Noa’s pleas for Mae not to blow up the dam as many of his people are now inside and will drown, she tells him that it is too dangerous for Proxima to get the weapons. She flees and detonates the explosives, forcing the water to rush in and submerge the facility, forcing all the apes to climb to safety.
Noa and his tribe climb to the surface, but he is attacked by Proxmius. While Proximus looks to have the upper hand, the apes sing their “bird song,” commanding the eagles. The tribe trains to attack Proximus, sending him falling to his death. Noa and his people return to their village and begin to rebuild it after Proximus’s troops destroyed it earlier. Noa then sees Mae standing in the distance, waiting for him. The two speak, but their former bond is now strained. Mae makes her stance clear: humans deserve another chance as they are the rightful owners of the planet, while Noa does not trust humans.
Then, the film shows Noa and Mae going on two parallel journeys. Noa and Soona ride back into the world, and Noa shows Soona the telescope from earlier in the film that allowed him to see worlds beyond there. Meanwhile, Mae arrives at a bunker where she is greeted by humans, but not feral humans like what audiences saw earlier. This looks to be one of the last pockets of civilization. The hard drive Mae took earlier in the film is inserted into a console and activates a series of satellite dishes outside the base, transmitting across the world. Another broadcast comes in as a human voice, relieved to know there are more survivors, showcasing that the human race has endured a lot more than the apes or even the audience would assume.
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A Human Rebellion is Brewing
The creators of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes appear to be spinning that loose idea of human survivors into its own unique narrative, just as Rise of the Planet of the Apes took the basic premise of an ape named Caesar leading the revolution from Conquest of the Planet of the Apes but being an entirely fresh story.
The human survivors in a military base seem more inspired by the pockets of resistance fighters seen in the Terminator franchise. The idea of various human cells uniting over a radio broadcast is exactly how Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines ends. With a pocket of humanity, both now have the ability to connect with one another and form tactics while also having some knowledge and technology from the ape world, which means they can begin a revolution and take back the planet they believe to be rightfully theirs.
This is what the final scene between Noa and Mae is all about. Mae says the planet belonged to humans, showing that while she was willing to work with Noa and saw a new side to the apes, she still had her own biases. This is symbolized by the fact that during the entire conversation, Mae has the pistol behind her back. While she does not fire it, she has it at the ready, showing that she does not trust any ape, even Noa.
Meanwhile, Noa was beginning to open up to the teachings of the ape Caesar, seeing a world where humans and apes could co-exist. Yet after Mae’s actions put him and his loved ones in danger, while he also got a glimpse of the world before apes ruled, he cannot trust them. While Mae’s mission to connect humanity together is complete, Noa’s is a little less world-shaking and more personal. He left the small, isolated world of his village and now has seen a wider world. He knows the dangers that lurk out there. While he, at the moment, might not know about the large, intelligent human population, he does know that they can be a greater threat than they realize and that they will likely be building his home and people for war.
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Whereas the Caesar trilogy documented the life and death of a revolutionary leader, one who was raised by humans but still cared for his fellow ape and hoped for a future of co-existence, the new trilogy features two characters on opposite sides of the board looking to fight for their species. Mae is firm in her beliefs and looks like she will stop at nothing, while Noa now seems primed to be a leader and could go down a path like Proximus did, doing whatever it takes to ensure his species does not go back in cages, which might include war and extermination of humans. They are now on paths that are motivated for the good of their people but will lead to destruction.
When Can Audiences Expect More Ape Films
With the stage set, now the question is when a fifth and sixth Planet of the Apes movie will hit theaters. No release date has been confirmed by Disney or 20th Century Pictures, but given the release schedule of the last trilogy, there is likely a three-year gap between each film. This means that a fifth film will likely hit theaters in 2027, while a third movie will be released in 2030. This is all assuming that Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes does well at the box office to warrant sequels, as recent box office disappointments like The Fall Guy might hint at a rough summer movie season.
As for titles, those are even further along and likely won’t be known until they start writing the scripts. They could reuse the original title for the fourth film, Empire of the Planet of the Apes for the fifth film. If the trilogy is looking to be a mirror of the Caesar trilogy, a perfect bookend for the series would be to call the sixth film Fall of the Planet of the Apes. The series would then begin with a Rise and end with a Fall.
