Blue Eyes

Blue Eyes
Occupation	Member of the Ape Army Member of the Ape CouncilPrince of the Ape Colony
Race	Chimpanzee
Gender	Male
Age	5 or 6
Status	Alive
Family	Caesar (father) Cornelia (mother) Milo (younger brother) Alpha (paternal grandfather; deceased) Bright Eyes (paternal grandmother; deceased) Will Rodman (adoptive grandfather; deceased) Caroline Aranha (adoptive grandmother; deceased) Charles Rodman (adoptive great-grandfather; deceased)
Continuity	Movies (CE)

Father...let...me...help you.

Blue Eyes speaks for the first time.

Blue Eyes is an evolved Chimpanzee and the eldest son of ape king Caesar and his queen, Cornelia. As Caesar's eldest son, Blue Eyes is the heir to his father's ape colony. Through Caesar, Blue Eyes is the adoptive great-grandson of the late Charles Rodman, the adoptive grandson of the late Will Rodman and the late Caroline Aranha as well as the biological grandson of late chimpanzees Bright Eyes and Alpha. When his mother gives birth to a second son, Blue Eyes becomes the older brother of Milo. As Caesar's son, he is a member of the ape council as well as a member of the ape army. Upon the rediscovery of humans, Blue Eyes becomes the ape counterpart of Alexander. During Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Blue Eyes serves as a secondary ape protagonist.

History

Birth and Childhood

In the years after the Battle on the Golden Gate Bridge and after the establishment of the Ape Village, Blue Eyes was born to Caesar and Cornelia, the king and queen of the Ape Colony. Unlike the other apes born into his own generation and many of the elder generation, Blue Eyes was named because of his abnormal eye color. Growing up, he became close to his father's honorary nephew, Ash, the son of Rocket and idolized Rocket and Koba for their strength. Over this time, Blue Eyes becomes extremely close to Koba who teaches him along with Maurice.

For most of his childhood, he was the treasured heir, being Caesar's only child which changed in Blue Eyes' adolescent years when his parents have a second child. As Caesar's eldest son, Blue Eyes inherited a lot of his father's personality traits and some of his mother's which include stubbornness, rebelliousness and defiance which become two of Blue Eyes' most identifiable traits.

Early in his adolescent years, Caesar assigns Blue Eyes to be a member of not only his army but his council, both skills that Blue Eyes would later need when he eventually takes over from his father as king. Also, Blue Eyes, like many of the other young apes, learnt to wield weapons as a way of defending himself if the need ever arose.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Blue Eyes first appears with his father during an elk hunt. Caesar tells him to stay put but is ignored. Blue Eyes wanders off to kill a trapped deer, only to be attacked by a bear, resulting in Blue Eyes receiving scars. Caesar intervened, keeping the bear at bay until Koba heard Caesar's cry and ran towards the bear, stabbing it in the back, killing the bear. When Caesar goes to check Blue Eyes' injuries, he brushes his father off. When they return to the village, Koba tells Blue Eyes to be proud of his scars. When his father is summoned by Cornelia's midwives, Blue Eyes reluctantly follows and stands awkwardly in the doorway before his father summons him over to meet his little brother for the first time.

Later, Blue Eyes is out fishing with his best friend and honorary cousin, Ash. Ash begins to tease him and playfully shoves him which results in Blue Eyes playfully shoving him back. On the way back to the village, the teenagers stumble across a human who suddenly becomes frightened and shoots Ash in the shoulder. Blue Eyes stays with him until their fathers and the other apes appear.

Back in the village, Blue Eyes sits with his father and his uncles in a council meeting. The apes argue over what is to be done about the humans  and what they must do to avenge Ash's shooting. Blue Eyes agrees with Koba that something has to be done to show the humans they mean business.  Ash, being present tells them that human didn't mean to shoot him and that it was an accident. Blue Eyes argues with him saying that the humans need to be taught a lesson.

When Caesar leads the army into San Francisco to issue their threat to the humans, Blue Eyes rides with him, carrying Alexander's lost bag. On Caesar's orders, he dismounts from his horse and throws the bag at Malcolm's feet.

Later, Caesar attempts to talk to him about the humans but Blue Eyes refuses to listen and stalks off much to Caesar's utter annoyance. When Caesar agrees to help Malcolm and his family, Blue Eyes accompanies him and his uncles, Maurice and Rocket and carries his little brother, Milo. When Milo climbs out of his arms and off the horse, Blue Eyes hurries after him and stops and watches nervously as the little one interacts with Ellie and Alexander before he wanders over to a supply box, revealing a hidden gun. Blue Eyes leaps into action and rescues his little brother from Carver only to be shielded by his father who threatens the humans with the exposed weapon before throwing it over the dam wall.

Blue Eyes is present when Malcolm and Ellie enter the family home to apologize for Carver's behaviour. He watches as the humans plead with Caesar to help Cornelia, who is very sick.

More to come...

Personality

Blue Eyes is seen as a misguided young Chimpanzee who struggles to determine good from bad. Known to be stubborn and rebellious, traits he developed from both his parents, Blue Eyes is also seen to be kind and is seen to be protective over those he loves, especially his family and those closest to him, examples being his cousin Ash and his uncles Maurice and Rocket.

As the son of the Ape king, Blue Eyes is seen to be a capable leader and fighter, but tends to take his warriorness a step too far as seen with his attack on Carver when the human goes to hurt his little brother Milo. His recklessness and rebelliousness is seen to be counter balanced by his father with whom he has a rocky relationship to begin with. His love for his little brother and his mother is seen to be strong as seen when he shields them after his father has been shot and his playfulness with his honorary cousin Ash is seen to be also very strong.

Like his father Caesar, Blue Eyes is only violent and aggressive towards anyone who is a threat to the people he cares about, he also has a vengeful side, after his father was seemingly believed to be killed by Carver, he wanted to avenge his father's apparent death, only on the humans who were (supposedly) responsible for his father's death, Blue Eyes used to believe Koba's stories about all humans being bad, this changed after he met Malcolm, Ellie and Alexander, and became friends with them, and he now sees that Koba's beliefs about all humans being bad are completely wrong.

Abilities

• Animal Strength: Like all Chimpanzees Blue Eyes is very powerful and strong. Blue Eyes is shown to be strong enough to rip a cage off a window of the cage that Maurice, Rocket and Luca were being held in.
• Advanced Intelligence: As the grandson of the late test Chimpanzee, Bright Eyes, Blue Eyes is the second generation to be born with advanced intelligence, the first being his father, Caesar. Because both his parents inhaled the ALZ-113 drug earlier in life, Blue Eyes has a higher intelligence than both his parents combined.
• Speech: As the son of two altered Chimpanzees, Blue Eyes was born with the ability of speech, while his father (and presumably his mother) learned to speak later in life. When he does speak, his English is very broken from having used Sign Language most of his life.
• Sign Language: Like his fellow apes, Blue Eyes uses Sign Language as a ways of communication to talk to other apes who cannot or have limited ability of verbal speech.
• Skilled Combatant: Due to him being a member of his father's ape army, Blue Eyes is a capable fighter. He is likely to have been taught by Caesar, Rocket or Koba.
• Leadership: As the son of Caesar, Blue Eyes is a capable leader, as seen when he leads Maurice, Rocket, Luca and the other rebel apes back to the Rodman house.

Relationships

Caesar

Caesar is Blue Eyes' father. Being Caesar's son comes with ultimate consequences. Blue Eyes tends to defy his father more than he obeys him but this doesn't stop him from loving him dearly.

Caesar, Blue Eyes' father.

When Blue Eyes becomes injured by a bear during a deer hunt, Caesar attempts to check him over but the teenager brushes away his concern. When his mother, Cornelia gives birth, Caesar summons him over to meet his little brother for the first time. Later, Caesar attempts to talk to him about the humans but Blue Eyes, too caught up in believing everything Koba tells him, stalks off. During the confrontation with Carver at the dam, Caesar shields him from harm. When Koba attempts to murder Caesar, Blue Eyes is utterly devastated and wants to help "avenge" his father's "death" whom he believes (like everyone else) to have been killed by Carver. Later, when Malcolm takes him back to the rundown Rodman house, Blue Eyes is overjoyed to be reunited with his father and apologizes for everything he has done. Caesar tells him that everything that has happened is his (Caesar's) fault and that Koba was behind his shooting, not Carver. Blue Eyes then tells him tearfully that Koba killed Ash. Caesar, devastated over his nephew's death, asks about the safety of Cornelia and Milo and Blue Eyes tells him that they're safe for the moment. Blue Eyes asks in broken English to help his father with rescuing Maurice and Rocket and any other ape who has been enslaved by Koba. While his father rests, Blue Eyes looks at the photo of Caesar and Will on the mantlepiece and realizes that his father was raised by humans hence the reason for his compassion towards them. He is startled when Caesar approaches him, having woken up. After returning with Maurice and Rocket and the other rebels, Blue Eyes reports to his father that Koba is now going after the females and young hiding in the forest. Caesar, realizing that Cornelia and the baby are now in danger, decides to head to the tower with his son and ape loyalists to stop Koba. Blue Eyes watches with great concern as his father fights Koba. After the fight, Blue Eyes joins Caesar as they reunite with a relieved Cornelia and Milo.

Cornelia

Cornelia, Blue Eyes' mother.

Cornelia is Blue Eyes' mother. Blue Eyes loves his mother dearly and is very protective over her. When she gives birth to his little brother, Blue Eyes is summoned by his father to join them as they privately celebrate the birth. When Cornelia is very sick, Blue Eyes sits at her side watching over her with his father and little brother. After the power has been restored to the city, Blue Eyes joins the celebrations with his father and is surprised when his mother emerges with his younger brother, full of health. He embraces her, happy that she is well but the moment comes to a devastating halt when Caesar is shot by Koba. Blue Eyes holds his mother as she cries over their beloved father and husband's apparent death. When Caesar asks later about Cornelia's fate, Blue Eyes tells him that she's safe for the time being. After his reunion with Caesar after returning to the Rodman house with the rebels, Blue Eyes tells his father about Koba going after the females and young, Caesar tells him that they have to act before Koba can get to them if they want to ensure Cornelia's safety. After Koba's defeat, Blue Eyes is reunited with Cornelia and embraces her tightly.

Ash

Ash, Blue Eyes' best friend and honorary cousin.

Ash is Blue Eyes' best friend and honorary cousin. Having grown up with Ash, Blue Eyes considers him his cousin and best friend. Like Ash, Blue Eyes loves to tease him and is seen to be very protective over him. When the teenagers stumble across Carver, Blue Eyes steps in front of him and growls at Carver. When Ash is shot, Blue Eyes guards him until Rocket shows up. Later, Blue Eyes argues with Ash during a session of council about what is to be done about the humans who shot him. When Koba decides to "avenge" Caesar's apparent death, Ash accompanies Blue Eyes and remains at his side. Later, when Ash refuses to kill a human, Blue Eyes watches in horror as Ash is thrown over a balcony to his death by Koba. The death of his closest friend would cause Blue Eyes to turn against Koba after realizing that Caesar was right to be concerned about Koba.

Alexander

Alexander is Blue Eyes' human friend and human counterpart. They don't have any direct interaction but they do appear a few times together.

Alexander, Blue Eyes' human friend and human counterpart.

The most recognizable moment is when Blue Eyes' little brother climbs out of his arms and over to Alexander and his step-mother, Ellie. Blue Eyes becomes nervous but sees that his brother is under no direct threat from Alexander or Ellie and approaches them both with caution. Also, Alexander is seen to attempt to stop Blue Eyes from hurting Carver who is about to hurt the baby.

Malcolm

Malcolm, Blue Eyes' new human friend and the counterpart of his father, Caesar.

Malcolm is Blue Eyes' new human friend. At first, Blue Eyes doesn't like Malcolm due to his strong influenced beliefs that humans are bad. Over time, Blue Eyes begins to see that Koba's beliefs are completely wrong and begins to bond with Malcolm. Their first interaction is in the village when Malcolm breaks Caesar's order to not cross the apes' territory and is taken to Caesar for judgement. Blue Eyes barks at him for defying his father. Later, Blue Eyes watches Malcolm and his wife Ellie plead with Caesar to allow Ellie to help Cornelia who is sick. A few days later after Caesar has been shot by Koba, Blue Eyes finds Malcolm hiding in his apartment. He is wary but Malcolm manages to get him to lower his gun. At first, he doesn't believe Malcolm when he tells him Caesar's alive but after witnessing Koba's betrayal and Ash's death, Blue Eyes follows him to the rundown Rodman house where he finds Caesar alive.

Ellie

Ellie is Blue Eyes' new human friend.

Like with Alexander, Blue Eyes has no direct contact with

Ellie, Blue Eyes' new human friend and the counterpart of his mother, Cornelia

Ellie but does appear in scenes with her. He nervously watches as she interacts with his brother and watches her plead with his father to allow her to help Cornelia. After arriving at the Rodman house, Blue Eyes is relieved to see her as he is grateful that she helped save his mother and that his father considers her a friend for helping them when they were lost in finding something to save Cornelia. He is also grateful towards her for saving his father when Koba shot him.

Koba

Koba was Blue Eyes' mentor and honorary uncle turned enemy. From a young age, Blue Eyes has always idolized Koba for his strength and his beliefs that all humans are bad, with this putting a massive strain of Blue Eyes' relationship with his father, who believes the opposite. When they return to the village after their bear hunt, Koba tell him to be proud of his new scars as they are a sign of strength. After Ash is shot, Blue Eyes agrees with Koba that something has to be done to show the humans that they will avenge their own if neccessary.

Koba, Blue Eyes' former mentor, former honorary uncle and enemy.

Later, when Blue Eyes refuses to reason from his father, Koba sits with him. When an angry Koba asks where Caesar is, Blue Eyes tells him he's with the humans and follows him to where Caesar is helping the humans get the dam working again. There, Blue Eyes watches conflicted as Caesar beats Koba for his insolence before forgiving him. Later, when Caesar is shot and supposedly killed by Koba who frames the humans, Blue Eyes shares a moment with Koba who promises him, they'll avenge Caesar.  Later, when Ash refuses to kill a human who has hurt another ape, Blue Eyes watches in horror as Koba drags his cousin up the stairs and throws him to his death. After this, Blue Eyes realizes that Caesar had every right to be concerned about Koba which results in the young prince turning on his mentor and allying himself with his father after he discovers that Malcolm had been telling the truth about Caesar being alive. Blue Eyes fully turns against him, when he finds out from Caesar that it was not Carver, but Koba who try to kill his father, this likely made him angry for worshipping Koba.

Milo

Milo is Blue Eyes' little brother. When Caesar is called by Cornelia's midwives, Blue Eyes follows him home and stands in the doorway as Caesar meets the baby for the first time. Seeing Blue Eyes standing in the doorway, he summons him over to meet his newborn brother.

Milo, Blue Eyes' little brother.

Blue Eyes wanders over and bonds with his little brother and their parents. Sometime later, Milo, now a few days old, rides with Blue Eyes as they, their father and uncles Maurice and Rocket meet up with Malcolm. Milo, curious about their new friends pulls himself free from Blue Eyes' grasp and wanders over to Ellie and Alexander, appearing at Ellie's shoulder as she checks Carver over for a suspected broken leg. Blue Eyes, having followed him watches nervously as he investigates the other humans before wandering over a box of supplies, uncovering a concealed weapon. Seeing his brother in danger, Blue Eyes jumps into the frey, attempting to make a grab for Milo while Carver, whom he has now hit, is down showing just how protective he is of his brother. Later, when the apes and Malcolm's family celebrate the restoration of the power to the city, Blue Eyes is surprised to see his mother well and carrying Milo. The trio embrace. Blue Eyes shields his mother and brother when Caesar is shot by Koba. As Caesar recovers, he asks Blue Eyes about the safety of Cornelia and Milo, Blue Eyes tells him they're safe for the time being. Two days later, Blue Eyes returns to the Rodman house and informs his father that Koba is now going after the females and the young. Caesar, sensing his wife and youngest son are now in trouble, orders Blue Eyes, Maurice, Stone, Rocket and the other loyalists to help him stop Koba before he can make his move against the females and young. After Koba's defeat, Blue Eyes and Caesar are reunited with Cornelia and Milo.

Maurice

Maurice, one of Blue Eyes' teachers and honorary uncle.

Maurice is one of Blue Eyes' teachers and honorary uncle due to his close friendship with Blue Eyes' father Caesar. The two are very close as Maurice has taught Blue Eyes and the other apes since they were young. Blue Eyes loves Maurice dearly and views him like an uncle as he does with Koba and Rocket. When Maurice is locked up by Koba for defying him, Blue Eyes finds him and Maurice tells him to be careful and to take care of himself. Later, when Blue Eyes follows Malcolm to the Rodman house, he tells a recovering Caesar that Koba has had any apes loyal to him locked up and that Maurice and Rocket are among them. Caesar then orders his son to go back and to free them and to bring them back to the house. Finding the captured apes, Blue Eyes breaks a cage of one of the windows and helps Maurice and Rocket to safety and frees the humans in the process before leading the group back to the Rodman house. When the rebel apes confront Koba, Koba opens fire, trying to aim for Caesar but misses and accidentally wounds Maurice. Blue Eyes, horrified, tends to him.

Rocket

Rocket, Blue Eyes' honorary uncle.

Rocket is Blue Eyes' honorary uncle. Like Koba and Maurice, Blue Eyes thinks of Rocket as an uncle and admires him, like Koba, for his strength. Because of his friendship with Ash, Rocket in return is protective over Blue Eyes who he views as not only his nephew but as a second son. Both are friendly towards each other and serve as members of Caesar's council. When Ash is shot by Carver, Blue Eyes steps in to protect Ash until their fathers arrive. Later when Caesar calls a meeting to discuss what is to be done about the humans, Blue Eyes and Rocket are seen arguing alongside Koba and Ash over the shooting. Blue Eyes who, much like Koba wants to show the humans what happens when they mess with them, Rocket hits back saying that Ash's shooting was merely a freak accident and that he will agree with whatever Caesar decides. When Caesar takes his sons and Maurice to the dam where meet up with Malcolm, Rocket accompanies them. After Caesar has been shot by Koba, Rocket is locked up for not being loyal to Koba. On the way to Malcolm's vacant apartment, Blue Eyes finds Rocket and Maurice locked up. Maurice tells the young prince to be careful and to look after himself. When Blue Eyes reports to Caesar at the Rodman House that Maurice and Rocket have been locked up, Caesar tells his son to go back and free them and to bring as many apes and humans back as he can. Blue Eyes, using his strength frees Rocket and Maurice and anyone else who has been caged by Koba before leading them back to the house. Later, Rocket and Blue Eyes are together when they watch Caesar fight Koba.

Luca

Luca, Blue Eyes best friend.

Luca is Blue Eyes' good friend. He is one of the few Gorillas featured in the film, and is one of the apes locked up by Koba for being loyal to Caesar. Serving as more as the muscle and guard force of the ape colony, Luca is seen saving wounded Chimpanzees at the beginning of the invasion of the human colony, where he is wounded himself.

More to come...

Carver

Carver was a human in which Blue Eyes had interact with. There were at least two occasions they had interact and they were both unpleasant experiences. Both times, Carver was willing to kill Blue Eyes and any apes present.

Carver, a human that Blue Eyes hates; for a good reason.

Blue Eyes attacks Carver when the human attempts to hurt his little brother who has become fascinated with the humans' box of supplies. Blue Eyes snarls at him and is himself shielded by Caesar who threatens to kill the humans if they harm his sons. When Caesar is shot by Koba, Carver was framed for the "murder" despite no one knowing he had already been beaten to death by Koba which prompts Blue Eyes to want revenge for his father's apparent murder.

Notes

• He served a similar role to that of Cornelius II from the Original films but does not share the same fate. Instead, Ash's death serves as a parallel to Cornelius II's death.
• Unlike his father, mother and younger brother, Blue Eyes has blue eyes, hence his name. It is possible that he was also partially named in honor of his biological paternal grandmother, who's name was derived from an anomaly in her eyes.
• Blue Eyes is the only ape in the colony to have blue eyes.
• Interestingly, Blue Eyes is not the first ape in the overrall Planet of the Apes franchise to have blue eyes. Zira, the main female Chimpanzee in the first three original films had blue eyes.
• Despite being the son of two altered Chimpanzees, Blue Eyes' speech is broken while his father and Koba can speak almost completely clearly. This may because Blue Eyes uses sign language as his main way of communication with the other apes.
• Blue Eyes is the fourth ape to speak. The first being his father, the second and third being his uncles Koba and Maurice.
• Previous to the release of the movie it was believed that Blue Eye's name was River.

Trivia

• He was mentioned at Comic Con 2013 by Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Dylan Clark and Matt Reeves.
• Because Caesar is the leader and King of the Apes and Cornelia is his Queen, their son is the Prince and heir to the Ape colony.
• Actor Nick Thurston posted the first official still from the film on his Facebook page and commented that Caesar was in fact the father of his character. He later commented and confirmed that his character's name was River. This name was never used in the movie and the character is now named Blue Eyes.
• Thurston revealed on his Facebook page, that Blue Eyes will share scenes with Kodi Smit-McPhee's character, Alexander.
• It is currently unknown how old (in ape years) Blue Eyes will be when we meet him. It has been revealed that Blue Eyes' age in ape years is equal to that of a human teenager aged 15. It could be possible that in human years, Blue Eyes is 5 or 6 years of age as 8 can be classified as late teens or adult years as seen with Caesar in Rise.
• Nick Thurston mentioned in a post on his Facebook page that he had intense days of filming with Andy Serkis. This could imply that there might be a rift in the relationship between Caesar and Blue Eyes.
• Nick mentioned on Facebook that he will share scenes with Keri (Ellie), Jason (Malcolm) and Judy (Cornelia) but how much interaction Blue Eyes will have with these characters is unknown at this point.
• The production team has mentioned that the offspring of the original genetically modified apes can speak much better than their parents, because they were born and raised with these abilities instead of picking them up as adults.
• In a recent Facebook post, Nick Thurston mentioned sign language with a follow on comment from the sign language consultant on the film, indicating that though the new generation of apes can learn and talk at a faster rate then their parents, they also use sign language as another means of communication.
• Nick Thurston recently put up the Behind the Scenes still of an ape handing Koba (Toby Kebbell) a gun on his Facebook page. Turns out the ape that hands the gun to Koba is Blue Eyes. This takes place after Caesar is shot by Koba in which the bonobo claims to want to avenge Caesar.
• Andy Serkis mentioned in a recent interview that he knows how it is to have a teenage son, but he doesn´t have the problems that Caesar has with Blue Eyes.
• While the film was in production, the character was known as River but for unknown reasons, the name was changed in Post-Production to Blue Eyes.
• According to the Dawn novelization, to begin with, Blue Eyes was jealous of Milo getting all the attention from Caesar but grew to love him, knowing that their parents loved them equally and didn't intentionly play favorites.

Image Gallery

BTS: Toby Kebbell (Koba) is handed a gun by Nick Thurston (Blue Eyes) and Lee Ross (Grey).

Blue Eyes speaks with Koba.

Blue Eyes with his father.

Blue Eyes watches his father's speech during a session of the council.

Talking to Koba.

Blue Eyes joins the celebrations of his new brother's birth with his parents.

Blue Eyes holds his younger brother while on horseback with his father and Maurice and Rocket.

Blue Eyes (in the background) watches his brother play with Ellie and Alexander.

Blue Eyes with Malcolm and Koba.

Blue Eyes on the defensive in the forest.

BTS: Nick Thurston acts with Motion Capture to bring the character of Blue Eyes to life.

Blue Eyes makes an appearance in the sixth official poster.

Blue Eyes watches his brother with their mother.

Blue Eyes snarls at Carver.

Blue Eyes and Ash return from fishing.

Blue Eyes witnesses his brother's birth.

Blue Eyes and Koba in the burning Ape Village.

Blue Eyes cries after learning of Caesar's true shooter.

Blue Eyes protects Infant from Carver.

"Come meet your new brother." Caesar introduces Blue Eyes to his little brother.

Blue Eyes with his father, mother and baby brother.

Blue Eyes with his father and Koba.

Blue Eyes by his mother's side

Blue Eyes with his father and Uncle Maurice.

Blue Eyes with an assault rifle.

Blue Eyes with assault rifle

Blue Eyes turns to Caesar when he told Blue Eyes the humans were not responsible for shooting him.

Blue Eyes drops Alexander's bag by Malcolm's feet

Blue eyes with assault rifle