In Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Koba set a new precedent for all future Planet of the Apes cast.
At the moment, the Planet of the Apes franchise is deeply rooted in the reboot movies. This series began with 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes and spawned three sequels. For the first three movies, viewers became invested in the story of Caesar, who fought for apes to live peacefully and separately from humans. Of course, he received pushback from the humans, but also from his own allies, including the fierce ape, Koba. Koba's betrayal was an astonishing moment in the franchise, but it may be rivaled by another storyline in an Planet of the Apes movie.
Proximus Caesar Can Still Return As The Villain In A Sequel (Which Koba Never Did)
Why Koba Never Returned
In Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, audiences are introduced to the latest Planet of the Apes villain, Proximus Caesar. This oppressive ape ruler uses the name of Caesar to control the apes, and more importantly, he intends on gathering human technology to gain even more power. At the end of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Proximus is killed when the apes' eagles shove him off a cliff. However, Proximus' role as villain may not be over so soon. Unlike Koba, who died a violent and abrupt death, Proximus may be able to return with a vengeance.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the first in a planned trilogy of new Planet of the Apes movies.
The main reason why Proximus could return in Planet of the Apes is that his death doesn't feel particularly final. Although it is a shocking and bloody attack, no one actually sees Proximus' body after the fall. This opens the door for Proximus to return in Planet of the Apes 5. Notably, this is quite similar to Koba's death in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. After taking a horrific fall, Koba is presumed dead — but his breathing can still be heard by audiences. The only difference is, Koba can no longer come back, but Proximus certainly can.
Matt Reeves Considered Bringing Back Koba In War For The Planet Of The Apes
It's A Good Thing Koba Didn't Return
Bringing Proximus back in the next Planet of the Apes would be fitting because War for the Planet of the Apes. In an interview on the Q&A With Jeff Goldsmith podcast, director Matt Reeves revealed that he purposely hinted at Koba surviving at the end of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes so that he could return in the following movie. His original plan was to open the movie with a colony of apes being attacked and Koba being a survivor who s the human forces to get revenge on Caesar.
Woody Harrelson's Colonel makes for a fantastic villain, and enough occurred in the third movie that Koba's return may have felt like too much.
Later, Reeves realized that the idea of Koba surviving his fall was "ridiculous," and thus, Koba never returned. Although seeing Koba again would have been a wild turn for War for the Planet of the Apes, it is probably a good thing that the ape stayed dead. Woody Harrelson's Colonel makes for a fantastic villain, and enough occurred in the third movie that Koba's return may have felt like too much. Furthermore, Koba's death brought his storyline to a neat and satisfying ending. Sometimes, it is better to have villains stay dead so that the other characters can move forward.
Proximus Caesar Is Too Interesting Of A Character Not To Return In Kingdom’s Sequel
How Proximus Caesar Should Return
Ultimately, Koba's return never happened, but Proximus Caesar's should. After just one movie, it is clear that Proximus is an incredibly interesting character with a lot to offer the franchise. He is a perfect example of what Caesar was not: a greedy and cruel ruler with no regard for diplomacy. In this way, Proximus is the perfect wild card to throw into the next movie, or perhaps even the one after that. He is charismatic and chaotic enough to make a strong return.
One particularly interesting route that Planet of the Apes could take is trying to redeem Proximus. In the earlier Planet of the Apes movies, Koba ed Caesar's side, only to rebel against him later. Perhaps Proximus could also learn to become loyal to Noa and the good apes, making him even more likable. Whether he rebels later is up to the filmmakers to decide. Either way, the Planet of the Apes franchise would only benefit from bringing back its new villain.
- Created by
- Pierre Boulle
- First Film
- Planet of the Apes
- Cast
- Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, Linda Harrison, Dichen Lachman, William H. Macy, Owen Teague, Freya Allan
- First TV Show
- Planet of the Apes
- TV Show(s)
- Planet of the Apes, Return to the Planet of the Apes
- Movie(s)
- Planet of the Apes, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, War for the Planet of the Apes, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes is a multimedia sci-fi franchise that began in 1963 with Pierre Boulle's novel, which was later adapted into a film in 1968 starring Charlton Heston. The success of the movie led to four sequels, two TV shows, a remake from Tim Burton, and a reboot trilogy. The Planet of the Apes franchise has also seen success in video games and comic books.
