The Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy succeeded where much similar sci-fi failed, and a lot of it has to do with how the film treated its human characters compared to Caesar. Far more character-focused than the previous Planet of the Apes movies, Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) rebooted the franchise and told a simple yet moving origin story through the eyes of Andy Serkis’ Caesar. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) followed a similar approach, and all three films avoid a common blockbuster problem.
There is no shortage of examples of sci-fi movies like the Planet of the Apes series that were supposed to have fantastical creatures as the main characters, but chose to focus on humans instead. From Michael Bay’s Transformers movies to the MonsterVerse’s Godzilla and Kong films, sidelining the “main event” in favor of human characters has become a tiresome trend for a lot of franchises. Though human characters help ground the story and can sometimes work as the audiences’ eyes in a different world, seeing less of Optimus Prime or Godzilla in order to follow original human characters often plays against a movie. Fortunately, Rise, Dawn, and War all avoided that mistake. While there were humans in the Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy, Caesar and his family were always the focus.
Planet Of The Apes Never Made Humans The Center Of The Story
The Rise of the Planet of the Apes movie was perhaps the film that most focused on humans of all three installments – which makes sense considering that the “planet of the apes” still did not exist. That said, the human characters in Rise of the Planet of the Apes were there to set up Caesar’s journey, as the connection between Caesar and the family who raised him would define the character for the rest of the trilogy. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes brought a lot of original human characters, which could have been a problem. However, once again, the focus was on Caesar and Koba. Finally, War for the Planet of the Apes only had a few human characters, most of whom were villains.
Will There Still Be Humans In Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes?
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will take place many years after the events of War, as described by the film’s first official synopsis. Considering that humans were almost extinct by the end of the Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes should in theory have far fewer human characters than the previous trilogy. Still, humans have always been part of the Planet of the Apes movies – from Taylor in Planet of the Apes (1968) to Nova in War for the Planet of the Apes. As such, it would be no surprise if there were still humans around during the events of the next Planet of the Apes.
Should Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes feature human characters, the 2010s Planet of the Apes films already showed how to combine original human characters with what the franchise really is about – the apes and how their decisions shape the world around them. It is still too soon to say who will replace Caesar in Planet of the Apes 4, as the character set the bar high when it comes to a strong, relatable protagonist. Nailing the protagonist as well as the human characters is the key for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes to work.
