''War for the Planet of the Apes'' is a 2017 American
science fiction film directed by
Matt Reeves
Matt Reeves (born April 27, 1966) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He first gained recognition for the WB drama series '' Felicity'' (1998–2002), which he co-created with J. J. Abrams. Reeves came to widespread attenti ...
from a screenplay by Reeves and
Mark Bomback
Mark Bomback (born August 29, 1971) is an American screenwriter, originally from New Rochelle, New York. Bomback is a graduate of Wesleyan University, where he studied English Literature and Film Studies.
Biography
In 1994, Bomback began w ...
, and produced by
Peter Chernin
Peter Chernin (born May 29, 1951) is an American businessman and investor. He is the chairman and CEO of The Chernin Group (TCG), which he founded in 2010. TCG manages, operates and invests in businesses in the media, entertainment, and technolog ...
, Dylan Clark,
Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver
Rick Jaffa (born May 8, 1956) and Amanda Silver (born May 24, 1963) are an American married screenwriting and film production duo. . It is the sequel to ''
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
''Dawn of the Planet of the Apes'' is a 2014 American science fiction film directed by Matt Reeves from a screenplay by Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. It is the sequel to ''Rise of the Planet of the Apes'' (2011), and the second in ...
'' (2014) and the third installment in the
''Planet of the Apes'' reboot franchise. It stars
Andy Serkis
Andrew Clement Serkis (born 20 April 1964) is an English actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his performance capture roles comprising motion capture acting, animation, and voice work for computer-generated characters such as Go ...
as
Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
, alongside
Woody Harrelson
Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor and playwright. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...
and
Steve Zahn
Steven James Zahn (; born November 13, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. His film roles include ''Reality Bites'' (1994), ''That Thing You Do!'' (1996), ''Stuart Little'' (1999), '' Shattered Glass'' (2003), ''Sahara'' (2005), '' Chicken Li ...
. In the film, conflict between apes and humans has escalated into full war, and Caesar sets out to avenge those he has lost.
Development for ''War for the Planet of the Apes'' began in January 2014, after
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
viewed Reeves' cut of its predecessor; his return was soon confirmed, along with Bomback's. A conditional 2016 release date was announced in May 2015, which led to a closer and faster pre-production relationship between writer and director. The film shares similarities to ''
Battle for the Planet of the Apes
''Battle for the Planet of the Apes'' is a 1973 American science fiction film directed by J. Lee Thompson. It is the fifth and final installment in the original ''Planet of the Apes'' series, produced by Arthur P. Jacobs, following ''Conquest of ...
'' (1973), with emphasis on the impact of
psychosocial development
Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, as articulated in the second half of the 20th century by Erik Erikson in collaboration with Joan Erikson, is a comprehensive psychoanalytic theory that identifies a series of eight stages that a heal ...
and interaction of apes and humans. Casting began in August 2015 and finished that October, with
principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...
commencing soon thereafter and concluding in March 2016, with filming locations including
Lower Mainland and the
Kananaskis Range
The Kananaskis Range is a mountain range west of the Kananaskis River in the Canadian Rockies. Many of the peaks are named after ships and people involved in the Battle of Jutland.
Mount Bogart is named after D.B. Dowling. Bogart was his mothe ...
.
''War for the Planet of the Apes'' premiered on July 10, 2017 at the
SVA Theatre in New York City, and was theatrically released worldwide by 20th Century Fox on July 14.
The film received critical acclaim, with praise for Reeves' direction, Serkis' performance, visual effects, themes, emotional weight,
Michael Giacchino
Michael Giacchino (; born October 10, 1967) is an American composer of music for films, television and video games. He has also served as a director for television. He has received many awards, including an Oscar for his work on '' Up'' (2009), ...
's score, and
Michael Seresin
Michael Stephen Seresin, ONZM BSC, (born 17 July 1942) is a New Zealand cinematographer and film director.
In addition to his work in film, Seresin is a winemaker, having founded Seresin Estate in the Marlborough wine region in 1992.
He is the ...
's cinematography. ''War for the Planet of the Apes'' was a commercial success, grossing over $490 million, and received numerous awards and nominations, including nominations for
Best Visual Effects and
Best Special Visual Effects at the
90th Academy Awards
The 90th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2017, and took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was held on March 4, ...
and
71st British Academy Film Awards
The 71st British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, were held on 18 February 2018 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2017. Presented by the British Academy of Film and Telev ...
, respectively.
A sequel, titled ''
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
''Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes'' is an upcoming American science fiction action film directed by Wes Ball from a screenplay by Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, and Patrick Aison, and produced by Joe Hartwick Jr., Jaffa, Silve ...
'', is in development with a release date set for 2024.
Plot
Caesar and his tribe of intelligent apes have been forced to be at war with a human militia led by a ruthless colonel. A platoon assaults an ape outpost and several paramilitaries such as Preacher are captured. Caesar was not surprised when he was informed that there are apes derogatorily called "donkeys" serving the militia. The tribe releases the humans to show the colonel a desire for peace; the "donkey" named Red flees by injuring the ape Winter. Caesar's eldest son, Blue Eyes, and friend Rocket return from an
oasis in a desert that is ideal for a safer home. The colonel leads a team in infiltrating the apes' home that night and kills Caesar's wife and Blue Eyes after mistaking him for Caesar. The apes are unable to find Winter, who betrayed them and had purposefully let Red go.
Rocket, Maurice and Luca accompany Caesar to serve as a decoy as the tribe journey. Caesar kills a paramilitary in self-defense and find the man's mute daughter whom Maurice befriends, giving her a rag doll. Winter is found serving as a "donkey" at a militia camp. He informs that the colonel has left and attempts to call out for help, but the other apes restrain Winter and Caesar accidentally suffocates him. Some paramilitaries were abandoned and left for dead. A man who was shot reveals that he is mute like the girl.
Caesar's group chases someone who has stolen one of their horses and is surprised to see that he is another intelligent ape, named Bad Ape. Bad Ape informs them that the militia is at a quarantine facility with an arsenal in the mountains. Attempting to get close, Luca is killed and Caesar is captured. Caesar learns that his tribe was captured and is being forced to build a wall.
Caesar deduces that the militia is barricading the facility to fend off the United States army. The colonel explains the "
holy war
A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...
": the simian flu has mutated and the infected become mute and
devolve
Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories h ...
, and he had elected to kill his son and other carriers before they could infect other people. The U.S army is searching for a cure through the manipulation of nature again. The colonel publicly starves Caesar to force the tribe to work. The mute girl, named
Nova by Maurice, sneaks into the facility to give Caesar water and her doll. Rocket allows himself to be captured to prevent Nova from being seen. The colonel later confiscates the doll.
Caesar and Rocket manage to free the apes via an underground tunnel leading out of the facility. The facility comes under attack by the army and Caesar sneaks into the colonel's quarters and is about to shoot him but realizes the colonel has become mute after handling the doll. The colonel instead commits suicide.
The escaping apes are caught in the crossfire. Caesar attempts to blow up a fuel tank to take out the militia from behind but is shot by Preacher. Red has a change of heart and kills Preacher but is immediately killed by another paramilitary. This allows Caesar to blow up the tank, triggering an avalanche that kills the militia and the army while the apes carry Nova and survive by climbing nearby trees.
The apes and Nova reach the oasis. As Maurice and Caesar watch Nova and Caesar's son play in their new home, Maurice discovers Caesar's wound. He promises Caesar that his son will know who Caesar was and what he did for the apes before Caesar dies.
Cast
*
Andy Serkis
Andrew Clement Serkis (born 20 April 1964) is an English actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his performance capture roles comprising motion capture acting, animation, and voice work for computer-generated characters such as Go ...
as
Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
, a
chimpanzee who is leader to a tribe of enhanced
ape
Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a clade of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and as well as Europe in prehistory), which together with its sister g ...
s.
*
Woody Harrelson
Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor and playwright. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...
as the Colonel, the leader of the paramilitary faction the Alpha-Omega.
The militia employs around 400 militarized people, who remain confident as humanity's last bastion under the leadership of the Colonel.
*
Steve Zahn
Steven James Zahn (; born November 13, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. His film roles include ''Reality Bites'' (1994), ''That Thing You Do!'' (1996), ''Stuart Little'' (1999), '' Shattered Glass'' (2003), ''Sahara'' (2005), '' Chicken Li ...
as Bad Ape, a chimpanzee who manages to flee from the
Sierra Safari Zoo after seeing his family and acquaintances being blamed for the simian flu and killed by the soldiers.
*
Toby Kebbell
Tobias Alistair Patrick Kebbell''Births, Marriages & Deaths: Toby is married to Arielle Wyatt. They got married in 2020 and they have one child together. Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 9 July 1982) is an English ...
as
Koba, a treacherous
bonobo who hates humans and is responsible for the war. Koba appears as a hallucination in front of Caesar.
*
Gabriel Chavarria
Gabriel Chavarria (born April 29, 1989) is an American actor. He played Jacob Aguilar in Hulu's ''East Los High'' and was the lead during Season One of USA Network's ''The Purge''.
Career
In 2007, Chavarria made his film debut ''Freedom Writers ...
as Preacher, a crossbowman commander in the Alpha-Omega militia and the Colonel's right hand.
*
Judy Greer
Judith Therese Evans (born July 20, 1975), known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress, who has appeared in a wide variety of films. She first rose to prominence in a variety of suppor ...
as Cornelia, Caesar's chimpanzee wife.
*
Karin Konoval
Karin Konoval (; born June 4, 1961) is Canadian-American actress who has appeared in theatre, numerous TV series and supporting lead roles in many feature films. Her screen credits include Maurice the Orangutan in '' Rise of the Planet of the Ap ...
as Maurice, a
Bornean orangutan and Caesar's loyal adviser and friend.
*
Terry Notary
Terry Notary (born August 14, 1968) is an American actor, stunt co-ordinator/double and movement coach. Notary mainly portrays creatures and animals for the film and television industry, and is known for his motion capture performances in films ...
as Rocket, Caesar's loyal chimpanzee lieutenant.
*
Michael Adamthwaite
Michael David Adamthwaite (born September 1, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He is credited with providing the voice for many characters in various anime series. He is also known for portraying the Jaffa Herak in the science fiction television series ...
as Luca, a
western lowland gorilla
The western lowland gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla gorilla'') is one of two Critically Endangered subspecies of the western gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla'') that lives in montane, primary and secondary forest and lowland swampland in central Afri ...
in Caesar's tribe.
*
Ty Olsson
Ty Olsson (born January 28, 1974) is a Canadian actor. He is known for playing Benny Lafitte in ''Supernatural'', real-life 9/11 victim Mark Bingham in the A&E television film ''Flight 93'', and Ord in the PBS Kids animated children's series ''D ...
as Red, a western lowland gorilla who works for the Colonel as a "donkey".
*
Devyn Dalton
Devyn Dalton is a Canadian actress, stuntwoman, dancer and voice over artist.
Career
Devyn has starred in Nickelodeon's ''A Fairly Odd Christmas'' as Christmas Carol and '' Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library'' as Gretel. In '' War for the Plane ...
as Cornelius, Caesar's youngest chimpanzee son.
*
Sara Canning as Lake, Blue Eyes' chimpanzee wife. She takes care of Cornelius.
*
Aleks Paunovic
Aleks Paunovic (born June 29, 1969) is a Canadian actor. Paunovic is from Winnipeg, Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's ...
as Winter, an
albino
Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino.
Varied use and interpretation of the term ...
western lowland gorilla in Caesar's tribe, who later joins forces with the Colonel.
*
Amiah Miller as Nova, an orphan who is mute.
* Max Lloyd-Jones as Blue Eyes, Caesar's eldest chimpanzee son.
*
Roger Cross
Roger Cross (born October 19, 1969) is a Jamaican-born Canadian actor who has made numerous appearances in several films and television series, mostly on productions shot in Canada. He is known for his work as CTU Agent Curtis Manning in the ...
as the Captain from the Alpha-Omega platoon.
* Mercedes De La Zerda as Lang, a soldier whose life is spared after the platoon assault failed and the survivors were captured. Later, she participates in the infiltration team at that night.
* Chad Rook as Boyle, a soldier from the quarantine facility who sees the construction of the defensive wall.
Production
Development
After seeing his cut of ''Dawn'',
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
and
Chernin Entertainment
Chernin Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded and owned by former News Corporation president and chief operating officer Peter Chernin, also CEO and chairman of the company. Jenno Topping is the current Head ...
signed
Matt Reeves
Matt Reeves (born April 27, 1966) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He first gained recognition for the WB drama series '' Felicity'' (1998–2002), which he co-created with J. J. Abrams. Reeves came to widespread attenti ...
to return as director for a third installment of the reboot series. In January 2014, the studio announced the third film, with Reeves returning to direct and co-write along with Bomback, and Peter Chernin, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver serving as producers.
During an interview in mid-November 2014 with
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
, Andy Serkis said they did not know the next film's setting. "...It could be five years after the event. It could be the night after the events of where we left ''Dawn''."
In May 2015, the title was first given as ''War of the Planet of the Apes''. By October 2015, it had been retitled as ''War for the Planet of the Apes''.
When director Reeves and screenwriter Bomback came on board to helm ''Dawn'', the film already had a release date, which led to an accelerated production schedule. However, with the third installment, Fox wanted to give the duo plenty of time to write and make the film. Taking advantage of this, the two bonded with each other more than before.
In interviews for ''Dawn'', Reeves talked about the inevitable war Caesar would have with the humans: "As this story continues, we know that war is not avoided by the end of ''Dawn''. That is going to take us into the world of what he is grappling with. Where he is going to be thrust into circumstances that he never, ever wanted to deal with, and was hoping he could avoid. And now he is right in the middle of it. The things that happen in that story test him in huge ways, in the ways in which his relationship with Koba haunts him deeply. It's going to be an epic story. I think you've probably read that I sort of described it where in the first film was very much about his rise from humble beginnings to being a revolutionary. The second movie was about having to rise to the challenge of being a great leader in the most difficult of times. This is going to be the story that is going to cement his status as a seminal figure in ape history, and sort of leads to an almost biblical status. He is going to become like a mythic ape figure, like
Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
."
Toby Kebbell
Tobias Alistair Patrick Kebbell''Births, Marriages & Deaths: Toby is married to Arielle Wyatt. They got married in 2020 and they have one child together. Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 9 July 1982) is an English ...
, who portrayed Koba in ''Dawn'', had expressed interest in reprising his role or performing as other characters. Plans to include Koba in a larger role in the film were abandoned early, with Bomback saying, "If you stayed until the very end of ''Dawn of the Planet of the Apes'', you hear Koba's breathing. We did that to give us a tiny crack of a possibility that we could revive Koba if we wanted to. Very early on in spitballing, we realized there was nothing more to do with Koba—certainly nothing that would exceed what he had done in the last story. But we knew we wanted to keep him alive as an idea. In playing out the reality of what happened at the end of the last film, Caesar would be traumatized by having to kill his brother. That would have resonance, and we wanted to make sure that did not get lost. So the answer was that we could go inside Caesar's mind at this point and revisit Koba that way."
Casting
In August 2015, ''
Deadline
Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to:
* Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished
Arts, entertainment, and media Comics
* Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain
* ''Deadline'' (magazine), a British ...
'' reported that
Gabriel Chavarria
Gabriel Chavarria (born April 29, 1989) is an American actor. He played Jacob Aguilar in Hulu's ''East Los High'' and was the lead during Season One of USA Network's ''The Purge''.
Career
In 2007, Chavarria made his film debut ''Freedom Writers ...
had been cast as one of the humans in the film. In September 2015, ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' announced that
Woody Harrelson
Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor and playwright. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...
had been cast as the film's antagonist, and that Chavarria's role was supporting.
In October 2015,
TheWrap
''TheWrap'' is an American online news website covering the business of entertainment and media via digital, print and live events. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman
Sharon I. Waxman (born c.1963) is an American author, journalist, ...
reported that
Steve Zahn
Steven James Zahn (; born November 13, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. His film roles include ''Reality Bites'' (1994), ''That Thing You Do!'' (1996), ''Stuart Little'' (1999), '' Shattered Glass'' (2003), ''Sahara'' (2005), '' Chicken Li ...
was cast as a new ape in the film.
It was also announced that actress Amiah Miller was cast as one of the film's humans, with
Judy Greer
Judith Therese Evans (born July 20, 1975), known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress, who has appeared in a wide variety of films. She first rose to prominence in a variety of suppor ...
and
Karin Konoval
Karin Konoval (; born June 4, 1961) is Canadian-American actress who has appeared in theatre, numerous TV series and supporting lead roles in many feature films. Her screen credits include Maurice the Orangutan in '' Rise of the Planet of the Ap ...
reprising their roles as Cornelia and Maurice,
while
Aleks Paunovic
Aleks Paunovic (born June 29, 1969) is a Canadian actor. Paunovic is from Winnipeg, Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's ...
and
Sara Canning were cast as new apes.
Filming
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...
on the film began on October 14, 2015, in the
Lower Mainland in Vancouver, under the working title ''Hidden Fortress''. Filming was expected to take place there until early March 2016. Parts of the film were expected to shoot for up to five days in the
Kananaskis in late January and early February. In March, Serkis confirmed that he had finished shooting his portions.
Visual effects
As with ''Rise'' and ''Dawn'', the visual effects for ''War'' were created by
Weta Digital; the apes were created with a mixture of motion-capture and CGI key-frame animation, as they were performed in motion-capture technology and animated in CGI.
Influences
At
New York Comic-Con 2016, Reeves explained that he and Bomback were influenced by many films before writing. He said, "One of the first things that Mark and I did because we had just finished ''Dawn'' was that we decided to watch a million movies. We decided to do what people fantasize what Hollywood screenwriters get to do but no one actually does. We got Fox to give us a theater and we watched movie after movie. We watched every ''Planet of the Apes'' movie, war movies, westerns, ''
Empire Strikes Back
''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story ...
''... We just thought, 'We have to pretend we have all the time in the world,' even though we had limited time. We got really inspired." According to Reeves, the treacherous apes being nicknamed "donkeys" is both a reference to the video game character
Donkey Kong
is a video game franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto and owned by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of a gorilla named Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong and his clan of other Ape, apes and monkeys. The franchise primarily consists of plat ...
and the fact that they are used as "pack mules".
Additionally, during production, Reeves and Bomback sought broader inspirations from films like ''
The Bridge on the River Kwai
''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' is a 1957 epic war film directed by David Lean and based on the 1952 novel written by Pierre Boulle. Although the film uses the historical setting of the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–1943, th ...
'' and ''
The Great Escape''. Feeling that there was a need to imbue Biblical themes and elements, they also watched Biblical epics like ''
Ben-Hur'' and ''
The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments ( Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
''. The influences and inspirations were made evident in the relationship between Caesar and
Woody Harrelson
Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor and playwright. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...
's Colonel, a military leader with pretensions toward godhood. Reeves has compared their relationship to the dynamic between
Alec Guinness's British Commander and
Sessue Hayakawa
, known professionally as , was a Japanese actor and a matinée idol. He was a popular star in Hollywood during the silent film era of the 1910s and early 1920s. Hayakawa was the first actor of Asian descent to achieve stardom as a leading man ...
's prison camp Colonel in ''Bridge on the River Kwai''. Another comparison is in Caesar's journey to find the Colonel, flanked by a posse of close friends—a situation Reeves explicitly tied to
Clint Eastwood's war-weary soldier in ''
The Outlaw Josey Wales
''The Outlaw Josey Wales'' is a 1976 American Revisionist Western film set during and after the American Civil War. It was directed by and starred Clint Eastwood (as Josey Wales), with Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, Sam Bottoms, and Geraldi ...
''.
Influences from the film ''
Apocalypse Now
''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph ...
'', notably Harrelson's character and his Alpha-Omega faction being similar to
Colonel Kurtz
Colonel Walter Kurtz, portrayed by Marlon Brando, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 film ''Apocalypse Now''. Colonel Kurtz is based on the character of a nineteenth-century ivory trader, also cal ...
's renegade army, were also noted by several journalists. Harrelson has also acknowledged the similarities and inspiration. In the third act of the film, the words "Ape-ocalypse Now" are written on a wall in the Colonel's prison camp.
Music
On October 17, 2015, it was confirmed that Reeves' frequent collaborator
Michael Giacchino
Michael Giacchino (; born October 10, 1967) is an American composer of music for films, television and video games. He has also served as a director for television. He has received many awards, including an Oscar for his work on '' Up'' (2009), ...
, who composed its predecessor, would return to score for ''War for the Planet of the Apes''.
For Caesar, Giacchino had wrote few emotional themes that would focus on the character's emotional side, with Reeves' idea on turning Caesar into a sort of "mythical and historical character" and referred him to
Exodus
Exodus or the Exodus may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible
* The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan
Historical events
* Ex ...
or
Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
. Several themes were created on the character dynamics, his relationship with Nova and a theme for Colonel, had been produced into that process.
The soundtrack was digitally released to
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
and
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
on July 14, 2017, and in its physical form by
Sony Classical Records
Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by S ...
on July 28, 2017.
Release
The film was initially set for a July 15, 2016, release. However, in January 2015, Fox postponed the film's release date to about a year later on July 14, 2017.
Marketing
Special behind-the-scenes footage for the film was aired on TV on November 22, 2015, as part of a contest announcement presented by director
Matt Reeves
Matt Reeves (born April 27, 1966) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He first gained recognition for the WB drama series '' Felicity'' (1998–2002), which he co-created with J. J. Abrams. Reeves came to widespread attenti ...
and
Andy Serkis
Andrew Clement Serkis (born 20 April 1964) is an English actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his performance capture roles comprising motion capture acting, animation, and voice work for computer-generated characters such as Go ...
. The footage aired during ''
The Walking Dead'' on
AMC
AMC may refer to:
Film and television
* AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain
* AMC Networks, an American entertainment company
** AMC (TV channel)
** AMC+, streaming service
** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company
*** ...
.
The announcement allowed winners to wear a performance-capture suit and appear in a scene as an ape. The announcement was released on 20th Century Fox's official YouTube page later the same day.
At a
New York Comic Con
The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006.
History
The New York Comic Con is a f ...
special event on October 6, 2016, Reeves, Serkis and producer Dylan Clark debuted an exclusive look at the film.
Serkis has also mentioned that the film would be accompanied by a video game, for which he performed motion capture. Titled ''
Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier'', the game was released for the
PlayStation 4,
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
and
PC in fall 2017.
Reception
Box office
''War for the Planet of the Apes'' grossed $146.9 million in the United States and Canada and $343.8 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $490.7 million, against a production budget of $150–152 million.
In North America, the film was projected to gross $50–60 million in its opening weekend;
however, given its acclaimed status and strong word-of-mouth, rival studios believed the film had the potential to debut as high as $70–80 million.
''War'' was closely monitored by analysts while the summer was witnessing a decline in ticket sales, a situation that they blamed on franchise fatigue for an overabundance of sequels and reboots (such as ''
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales'', ''
Transformers: The Last Knight'' and ''
The Mummy
A mummy is an unusually well preserved corpse.
Mummy or The Mummy may also refer to:
Places
*Mummy Range, a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado in the United States
*Mummy Cave, a rock shelter and archeological site in Par ...
''). However, box office analysts noted that well-reviewed films have tended to perform in-line with estimates (''
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
''Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'' is a 2017 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to ' ...
'', ''
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...
'' and ''
Spider-Man: Homecoming'').
The film grossed $5 million from Thursday night previews at 3,021 theaters, up 22% from the $4.1 million earned by its predecessor, and $22.1 million on its first day. It went on to debut to $56.3 million, topping the box office, albeit with a 22% drop from ''Dawn''s $72.6 million debut.
In its second weekend, the film grossed $20.9 million (a drop of 62.9%, more than the 50.1% fall ''Dawn'' saw), finishing 4th at the box office. In its third weekend, the film made $10.5 million (dropping another 49.9%), finishing 6th at the box office. It was lower than the third weeks of both ''Rise'' ($16.1 million) and ''Dawn'' ($16.8 million).
Critical response
On
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film holds approval rating based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critics consensus reads, "''War for the Planet of the Apes'' combines breathtaking special effects and a powerful, poignant narrative to conclude this rebooted trilogy on a powerful—and truly blockbuster—note."
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 82 out of 100 based on 50 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.
''War for the Planet of the Apes'' received praise for the cast's performances (particularly Serkis'), Reeves' direction, visual effects, musical score, cinematography and its morally complex storyline.
Scott Collura of
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
awarded the film a score of 9.5 out of 10, saying: "''War for the Planet of the Apes'' is an excellent closing act to this rebooted trilogy, but also one that does enough world-building that the series can potentially continue from here—and it's a rare case where, after three movies, we're left wanting more."
A. O. Scott of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' said of the film, "''War for the Planet of the Apes'', directed by Matt Reeves, is the grimmest episode so far, and also the strongest, a superb example—rare in this era of sloppily constructed, commercially hedged cinematic universes—of clear thinking wedded to inventive technique in popular filmmaking," and lauded Andy Serkis's performance in the film, stating that "Andy Serkis's performance as Caesar is one of the marvels of modern screen acting."
Peter Travers
Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...
of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, and said that Serkis performed "with a resonant power and depth of feeling that's nearly Shakespearean. Oscar, get busy: Serkis deserves the gold," and went on to say that "''War for the Planet of the Apes''—No. 9 in the
simian cinema canon—is the best of the Apes films since the
1968 original." Eric Kohn of
IndieWire
IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...
gave the film a B+ rating, and praised Matt Reeves's directing, saying "It's a given that an expensive 21st-century sci-fi movie with talking animals, exploding tanks, and jarring machine guns would look and sound great, but Reeves applies these effects with such a measured strategy that they're always working in service of a greater narrative agenda." Kohn went on to applaud the visuals and musical score, stating that "The breathlessly paced montage of flying bullets and angry monkeys raining down on terrified men, aided by Michael Giacchino's vibrant score, is a strong indicator of the next-level craftsmanship that distinguishes these movies from so many cacophonous Hollywood spectacles; not only is the action easy to follow, but you care for the motion-captured characters at the center of it, while the humans cower in fear."
Home media
''War for the Planet of the Apes'' was released on Digital HD on October 10, 2017, and on
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
and
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
on October 24, 2017, by
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
Accolades
Sequel
According to screenwriter Rick Jaffa, a version of the spaceship from the 1968 ''Planet of the Apes'' under the name ''
Icarus'' was in ''Rise of the Planet of the Apes'' as a deliberate hint to a possible sequel readapting the events of the original film, something the end of ''War'' also implies, featuring a younger version of the character Nova. During an interview of Andy Serkis with
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
in mid-November 2014, Serkis talked about possible sequels: "It might be three films, It could be four. It could be five. Who knows? The journey will continue." By October 2016, it was reported that a fourth ''Planet of the Apes'' film was being discussed. Shortly before the release of ''War'' in July 2017, Reeves said that he expressed interest in making more ''Apes'' films and that Steve Zahn, who played Bad Ape in the film, had set up a story for further sequels. Writer Mark Bomback hinted that more films would be possible, saying, "Truthfully, we haven't had those kinds of conversations. I've been working on these films for about seven years now. I'm ready to take a breather and let things rest a bit." In April 2019, following the
acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney
The acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney was announced on December 14, 2017, and was completed on March 20, 2019. Among other key assets, the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by the Walt Disney Company included the 20th Century Fox film and ...
, Disney announced that future ''Planet of the Apes'' films are in development. It was also confirmed in August 2019 that any future installments would take place in the same universe first established in ''
Rise
Rise or RISE may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* '' Rise: The Vieneo Province'', an internet-based virtual world
* Rise FM, a fictional radio station in the video game ''Grand Theft Auto 3''
* Rise Kujikawa, a vide ...
.''
On December 3, 2019, it was reported that
Wes Ball is currently set to write and direct an untitled ''Planet of the Apes'' film.
On February 17, 2020, it was reported that the film will be produced by Joe Hartwick Jr. and David Starke. Later that same day, Ball confirmed that he would be directing the film, and that it would be set after the events of ''War'', following "Caesar's legacy". On May 26, 2020, Ball revealed that
Josh Friedman
Josh Friedman (born 14 February 1967) is an American screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for his work on the science-fiction action genre, including on the series '' Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles'', the film adapta ...
will write the screenplay, while Jaffa and Silver will return as producers. He also said that, while the film will be set in the same universe as ''Rise'', it won't be a direct sequel to ''War'', saying that the film "will feel" like a follow-up to the overall ''Rise'' trilogy, but at the same time, the filmmakers will "do some really cool new stuff". Ball also said that the film could begin virtual production soon in spite of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
due to it being a mostly CGI film.
In a March 2022 interview with ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'', 20th Century Studios president Steve Asbell stated that production would start between the late summer or early fall of 2022. In August 2022,
Owen Teague
Owen William Teague (born December 8, 1998) is an American actor. He was born and raised in Tampa, Florida, and is known for his roles in ''The Stand'', '' Mrs. Fletcher'', '' Inherit the Viper'', '' To Leslie'', '' Montana Story'', '' Gone in t ...
was cast in the lead role. In September 2022, it was announced that the fourth movie in the current franchise would be titled ''Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes'', that
Freya Allan
Freya Allan (born 6 September 2001) is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Princess Cirilla of Cintra in the Netflix series ''The Witcher''. She also appears as young Sam in the 2021 film ''Gunpowder Milkshake'' and as the yo ...
was cast as the human lead with
Peter Macon co-starring, and that the film would be released in 2024.
Wes Ball has been tabbed to direct the film, and it will pick up many years after the end of ''War for the Planet of the Apes.''
[ Production for the film began in October 2022 in Sydney at Disney Studios Australia.]
Notes
References
External links
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