During the Super Bowl clash between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers this past Sunday (Feb. 11), 20th Century Studios delivered its own collision of culture with a new trailer for “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.”
The sneak peek is intriguing, loaded with astronomical hints that might link the series back to Charlton Heston’s astronaut character and his crashed spaceship from 1968’s original “Planet of the Apes” film.
Directed by Wes Ball (“The Maze Runner Trilogy”), “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” comes out on May 10. It’s the first installment of a planned trilogy that rises from the ashes of 2017’s “War for the Planet of the Apes” and pushes the sci-fi series’ evolutionary themes even further.
To accomplish this narrative task, it leaps 300 years forward in time, past Caesar’s foundational rule in the violent events of that previous installment to advance the franchise’s rich mythology with a cool cosmic tone that adds imagery of an observatory telescope and a hanging solar system mobile in this fresh preview.
Related: Smart simians stare at the stars in 1st ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ teaser (video)
Here’s the official synopsis:
“Director Wes Ball breathes new life into the global, epic franchise set several generations in the future following Caesar’s reign, in which apes are the dominant species living harmoniously and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.”
“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” centers around the simian character of Noa (Owen Teague), who lives in a world where the lessons and legacy of Caesar have been long forgotten and Earth’s apes have split off into tribes and clans attempting to forge a true civilization. One such faction is ruled by the charismatic crowned leader, Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), whose group has rediscovered the magic of electricity and intends to use its power to control and conquer.
Credit: 20th Century Studios (Image credit: 20th Century Studios)
“Humans have gone backwards, even from when we last saw them at the end of ‘War,'” Teague tells Entertainment Weekly. “Now they’re kind of where great apes are now for us, which is, they don’t speak; they’re animals. You get to watch them grow as a species.
“You get to see how legends and religion, to some degree, play a part in the creation of powerful figures. It’s a really smart story to be telling right now, especially, I think.”
Also starring Freya Allan, Peter Macon, Eka Darville, Dichen Lachman and William H. Macy, 20th Century Studios’ “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” lands on May 10, 2024.