War for the Planet of the Apes is a 2017 sequel to the 2011 film Rise of the Planet of the Apes and the 2014 film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes that was announced on January 7, 2014 with Matt Reeves planning to return as director. The sequel originally had a launch date of July 29, 2016, but in January 2015 it was rescheduled to July 14, 2017. An early licensing promo gave a place holder title of Planet of the Apes, and in May 2015 it was given the provisional title War of the Planet of the Apes.[1] The promo art was first shown at the Licensing Expo 2015 in June 2015, which also gave a place holder title of Planet of the Apes.[2]
Synopsis
2 years after the events of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Caesar and his apes have been at war against the humans. As the apes start suffering heavy losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts in order to face Colonel McCullough and the traitorous gorilla Red. This face-off which will determine the fate of both species and Earth's future.
Plot
Two years after the U.S. military was called to fight off an increasingly intelligent and dangerous tribe of apes, the apes clan, led by the chimpanzee Caesar, are attacked in the woods by a rogue paramilitary faction known as Alpha-Omega, led by a ruthless Colonel. Alpha-Omega also has in its service apes they call "Donkeys" that had previously followed Koba, a human-hating bonobo who led a failed coup against Caesar. During the attack, the Alpha-Omega militants are met by heavy ape resistance, and several soldiers, including the gorilla Red, are captured by the apes. Caesar arrives and orders the four human soldiers to be released, with a message to the Colonel that he did not start the war, and that he desires peace between the humans and apes. Caesar orders that Red is to be imprisoned for his crimes, but before he can be imprisoned, Red escapes, injuring an albino gorilla named Winter. Soon after, Caesar's son Blue Eyes and his lieutenant Rocket return from a journey to find a safe haven for the apes. They reported what they have found: an oasis across a vast desert devoid of settlement, making it the perfect home for the clan. Winter, still frightened from the soldiers' attack, suggested to leave immediately, but Caesar does not think they are prepared to leave so soon. That night, a group of Alpha-Omega soldiers, led by the Colonel, infiltrates the apes' home behind a waterfall and the Colonel kills Caesar's wife, Cornelia, and Blue Eyes. Winter cannot be found and Luca, a gorilla, believes that Winter has betrayed them out of fear.
Leaving his younger son, Cornelius, in the care of Blue Eyes' mate, Lake, Caesar departs to exact revenge on the Colonel for the death of his family. He is accompanied by Maurice, an orangutan and Caesar's adviser, Luca, and Rocket, while the other apes head for the desert. During their journey, the apes encounter a soldier living in an abandoned village and Caesar shoots him when he reaches for his rifle. Caesar, Maurice, Luca, and Rocket search the dead soldier's home. Maurice discovers the soldier's daughter who is apparently unable to speak. Maurice befriends the girl, giving her a small rag doll and insists that they take her with them.
Along the way Caesar's party encounters Winter in an Alpha-Omega camp on the beach where he has volunteered to become a "Donkey" for the soldiers in return for sparing his life. He tells Caesar's group that the Colonel has departed for a location referred to as the "border." Winter tries to call out to the Alpha-Omega soldiers to save him, but Caesar and the others held him down to keep him quiet, leading to Caesar inadvertently killing him. Caesar begins to worry that he is becoming like Koba by killing apes and seeking revenge. While following the soldiers to the border, they discover some soldiers who have been shot and left for dead. Their examination of a soldier who survived reveals that he, like the girl, cannot speak. Later the group meets Bad Ape, an intelligent chimpanzee hermit who lived in the Sierra Zoo before the Simian Flu pandemic. Bad Ape reveals that the human soldiers are encamped at the border and hesitantly agrees to lead them there.
When the group arrives at the border, they see hundreds of apes held captive inside a former quarantine facility. While getting a closer look, Luca is killed protecting Caesar from an AO patrol, angering Caesar and causing him to proceed alone. Caesar discovers the rest of his ape clan has been captured, and are being forced to build a wall with no food or water; he is captured by Red. The Colonel reveals to Caesar that the Simian Flu virus has mutated and now causes humans who survived the original strain to devolve, becoming mute and regressing back to a primitive state. Caesar deduces that the Colonel is barricading himself in the facility to fend off remnants of the U.S. Army from the North who are coming to execute him because he favors killing any infected humans including his own son to stop the spread of the virus. Caesar is commended by the Colonel for his intelligence, and the Colonel explains that he is fighting a "holy war" for the survival of mankind.
While Caesar is tortured with starvation, the mute girl, whom Maurice names Nova, sneaks into the facility to give Caesar her rag doll given to her by Maurice, food, and water. To prevent her from being discovered, Rocket allows himself to be captured as a diversion. The next day, the Colonel comes to see if Caesar is still alive, discovers the doll, and asks both Caesar and Preacher how the doll got inside the cell. The Colonel decides to take the doll. Together Caesar and Rocket are able to work out a means of escape via an underground tunnel that leads out of the facility. Maurice and Bad Ape use the tunnel to rescue the apes, and Caesar orders the others to escape while he goes to confront the Colonel. As the facility comes under attack by the northern army, Caesar reaches the Colonel's office and grabs his gun. As Caesar is about to kill the Colonel, he realizes the Colonel cannot speak and spots Nova's rag doll on the ground, surmising he has fallen victim to the virus that he feared and has become infected with. As the Colonel pleads with him to pull the trigger through gestures, Caesar puts down his gun and leaves the Colonel to his fate, who then grabs the gun and kill himself.
During the battle between Alpha-Omega and the Northern Army, the escaping apes come under fire from Alpha-Omega. Caesar attempts to attack Alpha-Omega from behind, but is shot with a crossbow by Preacher, one of the Alpha-Omega militants he had previously set free. Red saves Caesar's life by killing Preacher with a grenade launcher and is executed by an Alpha-Omega superior as a result. Caesar blows up the facility's fuel supplies, causing a cascading explosion, which wipes out Alpha-Omega and allows the Northern Army to win the battle. However, explosion triggers an avalanche, burying the base and the army, while Caesar and the apes, with Nova, survive by climbing nearby trees.
The remaining apes depart the facility, resumed their journey across the desert, and finally reached the oasis. While the other apes joyously celebrate their new home, Maurice discovers Caesar's wound. Maurice then speaks, telling Caesar that Cornelius will know what his father believed in and did to protect the apes. Caesar slowly and silently succumbs to his wound, and Maurice mourns his passing watching over the other apes.
Cast and Crew
Primary Cast
Evolved Apes
- Andy Serkis as Caesar - a common chimpanzee, the leader of the Ape Army and king of the Ape Colony, Cornelia's husband, and the father of Blue Eyes and Cornelius.
- Steve Zahn as Bad Ape - a common chimpanzee who lived in a zoo before the Simian Flu outbreak, and spent his days as a hermit before joining Caesar's Ape Colony.
- Karin Konoval as Maurice - an orangutan, Caesar's first best friend, adviser, and third-in-command of the Ape Army, a teacher and the Ape Colony's overseer.
- Terry Notary as Rocket - a common chimpanzee, Caesar's third best friend and the second-in-command of the Ape Army.
- Ty Olsson as Red - a gorilla and follower of the late Koba who defected to Colonel McCullough's forces.
- Michael Adamthwaite as Luca - a gorilla, Caesar's close friend and the fourth-in-command of the Ape Army.
- Toby Kebbell as Koba - a genocidal ape who had previously waged war against the humans, and now appears in Caesar's hallucinations.
- Judy Greer as Cornelia - a female chimpanzee and queen of the Ape Colony, Caesar's wife, and the mother of Blue Eyes and Cornelius.
- Sara Canning as Lake - a common chimpanzee, Blue Eyes' wife and Cornelius' sister-in-law/caretaker.
- Devyn Dalton as Cornelius - Caesar and Cornelia's youngest son, the younger brother of Blue Eyes, and the second prince of the Ape Colony.
- Aleks Paunovic as Winter - an albino gorilla, soldier of the Ape Army and member of the Gorilla Guard.
- Alessandro Juliani as Spear - a common chimpanzee and soldier of the Ape Army.
- Max Lloyd-Jones as Blue Eyes - Caesar and Cornelia's teenage son, prince of the Ape Colony and the older brother of Cornelius.
- Timothy Webber as Percy
- Lauro Chartraland as Look Out Ape
- Skye Notary as Ape Kid #1
- Willow Notary as Ape Kid #2
- Finn Notary as Ape Kid #3
- Phoenix Notary as Ape Kid #4
- Sadie Aperlo as Ape Kid #5
- Matilda Aperlo as Ape Kid #6
- Andrew Alexander Reeves as Ape Kid #7
Humans
- Woody Harrelson as J. Wesley McCullough - an iron-fisted soldier obsessed with wiping out Caesar and his colony of apes to preserve his people's role as the dominant species.
- Amiah Miller as Nova - a bold and kind war orphan whom Maurice adopts as his daughter.
- Gabriel Chavarria as Preacher - a human soldier.
- Shaun Omaid as Soldier Who Sees Ape
- Roger Cross as Captain
- Mercedes de la Zerda as Lang
- Doug Chapman as Alpha-Omega Deserter
- James Pizzinato as Captured Soldier
- Chad Rook as Boyle
- Dean Redman as Commanding Officer
- Steve Baran as Tanker Guard
- Sandy Robson as Gunner
- Levi Meaden as Soldier
- Billy Wickman as Gasping Soldier
- Albert Nicholas as Tower Guard #1
- Kyle Horton as Tower Guard #2
- Paul Luongo as Ukulele Playing Soldier
- Thomas Potter as Platoon Leader
- Matt Yanagiya as Executive Officer's Man
Uncredited Cast
- Unknown as Stone
- Emmanuel Amadeo Badal as Soldier
- Michael Germant as Campfire Soldier
- Kent R. Karemaker as Soldier
- Paul Larouche as Enemy Soldier
- Martin Lo Rimorin as Prison Soldier
- Tanner Scott as Soldier
- Rhys Williams as Alpha-Omega Soldier
- Sarah Ziolkowski as Soldier
Production Crew
- Director ... Matt Reeves
- Screenwriters ... Matt Reeves, Mark Bomback
- Producers ... Peter Chernin, Dylan Clark, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
More to come...
Locations
More to come...
Filming Locations
Richmond, BC, Canada
Behind the scenes
It was announced in October 2016 that a fourth film was already being planned.
Setting & Continuity
The recap paragraphs at the opening scene of War stated that the events at the end of Rise had happened fifteen years ago. However, director Matt Reeves contradicted this by saying in an interview with Collider that War was set two years after Dawn, which would reduce that gap to twelve years.
- See Planet of the Apes - Chernin Entertainment for a complete exploration of the date setting for the Chernin Entertainment film trilogy and possible connections to other Planet of the Apes film continuities.
Notes
- This is the first iteration of the Planet of the Apes film franchise to have an albino ape.
- The Alpha-Omega symbol can be seen on Preacher's helmet, Red's right temple and on a U.S. flag in the last human camp, a reference to the Alpha-Omega Bomb from Beneath the Planet of the Apes and Battle for the Planet of the Apes.
Film Stills
Promotion
Trailers
TV Spots
Deleted Scenes
Posters
Websites
http://www.warfortheplanet.com
https://www.facebook.com/ApesMovies
https://twitter.com/ApesMovies/
https://www.instagram.com/ApesMovies/
External Links
- War for the Planet of the Apes at the Internet Movie Database
- War for the Planet of the Apes at the Dnung/}}
- When Life gives you Lemmons - 'Simian Scrolls' #20 (2018)
References
- ↑ Exclusive: New PLANET OF THE APES Movie Title Revealed, by Matt Goldberg - Collider (14 May 2015)
- ↑ First promo art for ‘Independence Day 2,’ ‘Planet of the Apes 3’ appear at Licensing Expo 2015