Development on a new Planet of the Apes film began in April 2019, following Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox, with Ball attached as writer and director that December. Much of the script was written during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with casting commencing in June 2022, following the script's completion. Teague was cast in the lead role that August, with the film's title and additional casting revealed in the following months. Principal photography began in October 2022 in Sydney and wrapped in February 2023.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is scheduled to be released by 20th Century Studios in the United States on May 10, 2024.
Premise
Nearly 300 years after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes (2017),[1] ape civilizations have emerged from the oasis to which Caesar led his fellow apes, while humans have regressed into a feral, primitive state. When the ape leader, Proximus Caesar, perverts Caesar's teachings to enslave other clans in search for remnants of human technologies, Noa, a common chimpanzee, embarks on a harrowing journey alongside a young human named Mae to determine the future for apes and humans alike.[2][3]
In October 2016, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) director Matt Reeves said that he had ideas for a fourth film in the Planet of the Apes reboot series.[13] In mid-2017, as War was released, Reeves and co-writer Mark Bomback expressed further interest in sequels. Reeves said that Steve Zahn's character, Bad Ape, established a primate world "much larger" than just Caesar's group of apes, adding that there are apes "who grew up without the benefit of Caesar's leadership" and suggesting that conflict would arise if Caesar's apes should encounter such outsiders.[14] Bomback felt that "there was probably only one more big chapter left to tell", explaining how Caesar "came to be this Moses figure in the Apes world". He suggested that other filmmakers might work on the sequel and that it could take place hundreds of years after War. Despite this, he clarified that there had not been conversations on a potential sequel, expressing his desire to "take a breather and let things rest a bit."[15]
In April 2019, following its acquisition of 20th Century Fox, the Walt Disney Company announced that further Planet of the Apes films were in development.[16] In August, it was confirmed that any future installments would be set in the same universe first established in Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011).[17] In December, it was announced that Wes Ball would write and direct the film,[18] after having previously worked with Reeves on a film adaptation of Mouse Guard. After that film was canceled by Disney following the merger, the studio approached Ball on developing a new Planet of the Apes film.[19]
In February 2020, Ball confirmed that the film would not be a reboot, instead chronicling "Caesar's legacy".[20] Joe Hartwick Jr. and David Starke were also confirmed to serve as producers.[21] In April, it was announced that Peter Chernin, who produced the previous installments through Chernin Entertainment, would serve as executive producer. The film will be one of the company's last films before it leaves 20th Century Studios for Netflix.[22] The next month, it was revealed that Josh Friedman would co-write the script with Ball, and that Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver would return to produce the film after doing so for the previous installments. Ball and Friedman would discuss the script through Zoom video calls, a routine which continued as the COVID-19 pandemic began. Instead of a direct sequel to War, Ball stated that the film would feel more like a follow-up to the previous films, and commented that the film could begin virtual production soon in spite of the pandemic due to the fact that much of the film contained computer-generated imagery (CGI).[23]
In March 2022, 20th Century Studios president Steve Asbell stated that he was expecting a screenplay draft shortly, aiming for production to begin by the end of the year.[24] By June, Oddball Entertainment and Shinbone Productions were also set to produce the film,[25][additional citation(s) needed] while the search for the main star was underway following the script's completion the previous month.[26] The film's title was revealed to be Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes in September 2022, with the film revealed to take place many years after the events of War. Jaffa, Silver, and Patrick Aison joined the writing team, with Ball no longer credited as screenwriter. Jason Reed and Jenno Topping were also announced as producer and executive producer, respectively, while Starke was no longer expected to serve as producer.[7]
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is scheduled to be released in the United States on May 10, 2024.[33] It was previously set for May 24 of that year,[34] but was rescheduled two weeks earlier to avoid competition with Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and The Garfield Movie during Memorial Day weekend.[33]
Future
In June 2022, it was reported that Disney and 20th Century planned for Kingdom to be the first of a new trilogy of Planet of the Apes films.[26] Ball confirmed this in December 2023, explaining that the film had been conceived as the beginning of a trilogy that "fit into the legacy of" the previous three films.[1]
