Summary

• Wes Ball breathes new life into Planet of the Apes with powerful performances and a fresh take on Caesar's legacy.
• Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes explores complex themes of betrayal, humanity, and the future of Ape-kind.
• The powerhouse cast, including Owen Teague and Freya Allan, deliver compelling performances that bring the apes to life with depth.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes to Screen Rant's media suite. Generations after Caesar helped liberate apes from humanity, his legacy has changed over time. The movie follows Noa, a young Chimpanzee who is thrown into a world of chaos and danger after his village is attacked by followers of Proximus Caesar. Noa searches for the apes who attacked his home and meets Raka, a wise orangutan who teaches him about the first Caesar, and Mae an enigmatic human with secrets and motivations of her own. When Noa finally comes face to face with Proximus Caesar, he will be forced to reckon with all he has learned about Caesar, humans, and apes as they fight for the future of Ape-kind.

Wes Ball brings a fresh perspective to the iconic Planet of the Apes franchise, incorporating elements of Caesar's trilogy while foreshadowing the world this will become. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes stars a powerhouse cast with Owen Teague, Kevin Durand, and Peter Macon completely disappearing into their roles as they bring these apes to life with pathos and depth. Freya Allan perfectly balances the enigmatic layers of Mae through her compelling performance.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes stars Owen Teague, Kevin Durand, Freya Allan, and Peter Macon dropped by Screen Rant's San Diego Comic-Con media suite for a fun interview. Durand and Macon argued that their characters could still be alive and showed what a conversation between them could look like. Teague broke down the arc he'd like to see with Owen and how it connects to Caesar. Allan shared insight into the next season of The Witcher.

Where Do Mae & Noa Stand After Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes

Screen Rant: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is one of the best films of the year. It's absolutely incredible. You guys did such an amazing job, and it's so gorgeous. Freya, do you think Mae sees herself as the hero by the end of the movie? How guilty does she actually feel about betraying the apes?

Freya Allan: I definitely don't think she looks at herself as a hero. I think it's great that she's accomplished something incredible, honestly. But there's a lot more to go for this mission. It's not finished, but I'm sure she's just feeling relieved - and obviously it's kind of insane that she managed to accomplish that.

I kept looking at her being like, "How is she actually doing this? This is incredible. How does she know where to go?" She's just got a really good map up there. She's quite resourceful. She's a great sat nav up there. I don't think she sees herself as a hero, but she's definitely very pleased with herself. She's managed to do that.

Owen, after being betrayed by Mae, how much will Proximus' influence continue to impact your character going forward?

Owen Teague: I think it depends on what happens going forward. I think Noa's going to be struggling a lot with the angel and demon on his shoulders now, which is Raka on one side and then Proximus on the other. Which one's the angel and which one's the demon? I don't know.

I think it depends on what Mae and the rest of the humans do in the future which way Noa ends up going.

Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes May Not Have Killed Off Proximus Caesar & Raka

Peter, we don't see Raka die on screen. Is he really dead?

Peter Macon: Did you see [Raka] die? I didn't see him die. Did you see him die? I saw [Proximus] kind of fall...

Kevin Durand: I didn't die! Shut up, Raka. "I didn't see you die, but you fell from a very big height." Stop putting that out in the universe.

Peter Macon: No, I'm saying you'll come back formidable, bro. Just broken and beat up.

Kevin Durand: Okay. That's what you meant.

Kevin, how do you think Proximus would want to be taken going forward?

Kevin Durand: That's a very difficult question. I feel like he still believes in his ideology and the way that he interpreted Caesar's words, but I think he has definitely been humbled. It'd be very interesting to see if or when he climbs out of the water. I don't know. I really have no idea what comes of that.

I can't help but think there would be humility there, but I don't know. He sees something in Noa that he's never seen in another ape and I think he would love to somehow be a part of that, whether it be to manipulate it or to make it his own. I have no idea.

Peter Macon: That's such an interesting point of view. It's like, "What did we learn at the end of this movie?"

Kevin Durand: Maybe going all the way out like that wasn't exactly the answer. But if you think about it, he knows that these creatures... [Proximus voice] "Humans! Humans smell bad."

They're getting close. They're going to get in there somehow. They know more than we do. That's what he's always thinking. He can't go to Eagle Town and say, "I have this idea that maybe if you all come and work with me..." No, it's like, "You're coming with me, because we don't have time!" that's where he was at with that. So I don't know what kind of humility he's actually capable of. It'd be interesting.

A lot of interesting things could arise from it. Fingers crossed, toes crossed. Everything's crossed on my body all the time.

Freya Allan Teases Ciri & Geralt’s [Lack Of] Relationship In The Witcher Season 4

Freya, you’re all about the big, epic franchises at the moment, and The Witcher is going through its biggest change yet. How do you feel Ciri and Geralt’s relationship evolve in season 4?

Freya Allan: There's no relationship this season. Ciri's off on her own path and he's off on his own, and so it's, "Forget about Geralt." That's what Ciri's in the zone of. "Let's try and block that out. That never happened. Now I'm Falka; I'm not Ciri." But as you can see, I sort of haven't left it behind. I'm sort of still in it now.

But Liam's lovely; he's a really nice guy. I haven't seen anything he's done because we don't really have scenes together, but he's so sweet. I've heard that he's smashing it, so I can't wait to see what he's doing.

The Future Of The Planet Of The Apes Franchise Is Wide Open

Where do you personally want to see your characters go next in the Planet of the Apes franchise?

Peter Macon: I think that I would like to see Raka understand what he doesn't know. I think it's incredibly ironic that he's such an articulate ape, but he hasn't read the literature that has seen apes in cages. I'd like to see him have to work harder to maintain his philosophy in light of everything that's happened, and I'd like to see him have to work harder to keep Noa on the path of righteousness, for lack of a better word. I'd like to see that.

Kevin Durand: I would like to see where Noa and Proximus can meet in philosophy and strategy. I would love to see them come together because they have an incredible foe to either hold at bay or destroy. I think that could only happen if they unite.

Owen Teague: I would love to see Noa have an inverse of the Caesar arc. The first movie's literally called Rise, and [Caesar] leads the apes into this age of freedom and takes them to the promised land, if you will. And then Noah, depending on how things go with the humans, maybe comes to believe that they actually need to know less and starts leading us towards the Dr. Zaius areas of the original film.

I don't know if that's going to happen, but I think that the relationships with Raka and Proximus are kind of competing philosophies of how we need to treat humans and how we need to treat those who are different from us and [what we do with] knowledge. I think there's a really interesting opportunity for Noah's ideas to be warped throughout the next films. But I have no idea what's going to come.

Freya Allan: I'm just excited to see what she does with everything she's learned on that adventure, and how she's going to communicate it to her fellow humans. How is she going to tell them what she's learned - or is she? I'm intrigued to see how those conversations go. I feel like there's going to be a lot of friction there.

Kevin Durand: You're definitely up for promotion, though.

Freya Allan: And then I might be fired when I start bringing in all these radical thoughts. Potentially, if I do do that.

Kevin Durand: If you speak of the consciousness of these apes.

Freya Allan: Yeah, exactly, they're not going to like that.

About Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

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.

Check out our other Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes interviews:

• Owen Teague
• Wes Ball at WonderCon
• Owen Teague, Kevin Durand & Alain Gauthier
• Freya Allen & Peter Macon
• Wes Ball

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes debuts on Hulu on August 2. It will also become available on 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD on August 27.

Source: Screen Rant Plus

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