When Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was announced, the next installment in the beloved series, many expected that the forthcoming chapter would tell the story of Caesar's son Cornelius. That would track given that the recent trilogy witnessed the entirety of protagonist Caesar's (Andy Serkis) life, ending with his death in 2017's War for the Planet of the Apes.
However, although fans thought that this next film would pick up immediately after those events, instead Kingdom leaps forward in time, roughly 300 years later in fact. So, whilst it was previously believed that lead actor Owen Teague would be portraying Cornelius, instead he's playing a new young ape called Noa whose journey we follow.
But if you are still hoping to see a story focused on Caesar's son, we come bearing good news as Kingdom's director Wes Ball tells us that he can still see that happening one day in the future - it just wasn't this film.
As he revealed in conversation with GamesRadar+ and the Inside Total Film podcast in response to our question over whether there was any temptation to tell that tale here: "For me, no. That’s what I wasn’t interested in doing. I appreciate some people want that but for me it’s so wrought with dangerous waters to tread into because you'll always be compared to the previous movies and all that kind of stuff.
"So, there's certainly room for someone somewhere to do some of that story - that exists somewhere. But for us, we thought the right move was to kind of get some distance from those movies and see how we can start fresh with what was very strong roots. That felt right for us."
Continuing, Ball admits that he was initially hesitant to take on this project, mainly thanks to how beloved the trilogy of Rise, Dawn, and War is. In fact, he even said no at first when he was approached about the movie. So, what changed his mind?
For the filmmaker, it was the story, which he believes has the most potential, exploring a time jump and the impact of Caesar's legacy. So yes, whilst Kingdom isn't about Caesar's son, the ape himself is still at the very heart of this chapter. He explained: "It was the story that we came up with. That previous trilogy of movies, essentially the Caesar trilogy, are so beloved and we're such big fans. With that there was such good closure - a beginning, middle, and an end, a one, two, three. That’s a great number, you don't want to be a part four.
"And when we figured out how to not be a part four, that's when suddenly the light bulb went off. We figured out that there's potential here actually, with what we can do with Caesar’s storyline and his legacy, this kind of gap in time, and the things that have been lost. We get to kind of rediscover a world through the eyes of Noa, on his journey of discovery in a really cool way. I think, hopefully, it stands on its own amongst all these Apes movies - there has been 10 of them now. Hopefully we are a worthy instalment, a new chapter in this long legacy."
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes releases in cinemas on May 9 in the UK and May 10 in the US. Keep your eyes peeled for more from our interview with Ball and the film's cast on site later this week, as well as on the upcoming episode of the Inside Total Film podcast.
And to stay up to date with the most exciting films heading your way, check our our guide to the upcoming movies of 2024.
