Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the fourth entry in the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise, and the title for the film offers insight into how it will differ from the first three films. In the series, both the rebooted entries and the original films, the movies have followed a specific trend of changing the first few words of each title. The first film in the rebooted series was titled Rise of the Planet of the Apes and chronicled the outbreak of the Simian Flu at the hands of Caeser the ape, hence the rise of intelligent apes.
The second film, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, was similar in that the movie chronicled the early years of the apes' dominance on Earth, the dawn of their civilization. Finally, War for the Planet of the Apes - one of Matt Reeves' best movies - was again self-explanatory due to Caeser fighting the war against the US Army caused by Koba's actions in the second film. Following this trend, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes sheds some light on how the upcoming sequel will be different from its predecessors.
"Kingdom" Could Show An Unused Aspect Of Reeve's Apes Trilogy
The usage of the word "kingdom" in the film's title means that it could show an underutilized element of the first three films. Rise took place majoritively in modern society as it is known in the real world, as it showcased the outbreak of the pandemic. While Dawn and War showed some elements of Caeser's ape community, they were minimal, to say the least, as each movie had other focuses. With Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes though, the fourth film can showcase an ape community in a way its predecessors did not.
Both the use of "kingdom" and the timeline of Planet of the Apes 4 means that a fully-fledged ape civilization can be shown. The film takes place many years after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes, which likely means a long time of uninterrupted peace for the apes. This could mean that the film picks up with the surviving members of Caeser's group having built a massive civilization around their oasis found at the end of the last film.
How Apes 4’s Title Could Hint At A Different Type Of Conflict
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes could also hint at the film's central conflict. The use of the word "kingdom" subliminally makes audiences think of ancient civilizations of warring kingdoms. This could mean that the film's main antagonist comes from another of these ape kingdoms, building off of the potentiality of more intelligent apes across the country from the spread of the Simian Flu as hinted at with Bad Ape in War for the Planet of the Apes. This would set up a territorial-style, large-scale conflict, rather than the betrayal-led conflict of Dawn and guerilla warfare action of War, while also potentially creating a franchise-best villain.
Apes 4's Title Could Allow For The Franchise's Best Villain
One of the ways this could be done is by introducing an ape from a different kingdom as the film's antagonist. In doing so, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes could have a very compelling, emotionally resonant villain by having the ape simply be an alternate version of Caeser. As was shown in the first three Apes films, Caeser's struggle made him an incredibly engrossing protagonist, and the likely titular kingdom in Apes 4 will feel rewarding because of his story. However, it is not out of the realm of possibility for another ape community to have faced similar struggles with their own Caeser replacement.
This could set up a very compelling villain to be the head of another of these communities that could then come into conflict with the apes of the original trilogy. This would combine the best elements of the series' two major villains from Dawn and War, respectively. One of the most fearsome aspects of Koba was the fact that he was an ape when the entire franchise was built on the mantra of "apes together strong." With the Colonel from War, the third film was allowed to have a big, explosive conflict at its center. In combining these elements, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes could feature the series' best villain while capitalizing on the upcoming installment's new title.