Seven years after Caesar’s story came to an end, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has finally been released, and it seems to set up a whole new era for the franchise. Kingdom is set many generations after War, so it features new characters in a new story. Noa is a young chimpanzee who goes on an adventure to rescue his clan from a barbaric ape trying to unite different tribes under his rule, but he meets an intelligent human along the way who makes him question everything he believes he knows about his world.
There is no news yet of a sequel to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, but the fourth installment in the reboot series sets up a few interesting storylines which could be explored in a new trilogy. There have been three movies focusing on Caesar, and this new era could be Noa’s story. Although his journey mirrors Caesar’s in some ways, he is set to face a lot of new challenges in this new and unusual world. The other interesting narrative thread is the resurgence of humans, who were on the brink of collapse in War, but still survive in some isolated colonies. A Kingdom sequel would have a lot of potential story options.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes shows humans living a primitive lifestyle in the woods, generations after the Simian Flu mutated to rob them of their intelligence. However, Mae’s existence proves that not all humans were affected by the virus, and the ending shows her returning to a settlement filled with other intelligent humans. It’s likely that these humans all have a natural immunity to the virus, and they manage to contact another group living in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which is the first step toward humans gradually rebuilding society.
One of the big unanswered questions about Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes‘ ending is how many other intelligent humans could be living across the country and across the entire world. When Mae’s group manages to contact Fort Wayne, the operator on the other end expresses shock that he has heard someone. This means that there are probably just the two human civilizations who have the capacity to communicate across long distances, at least in America, but there could be many other human settlements who are unaffected by the virus.
Caesar is absent in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, but his spirit lives on. He has become revered as a messiah among some of the apes. Proximus tries to warp his teaching for his own gain, but Raka understands the deeper truth. Noa starts off by not knowing who Caesar was, and Raka has to teach him about his symbol, his words of wisdom, and his affection for humans. Some of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Easter eggs contain hidden references to Caesar, which show that his influence remains strong.
Noa gradually begins to internalize Caesar’s teachings, and he sets himself up as a similar leader by the end of Kingdom. He is the one who galvanizes Eagle Clan against Proximus and returns them home, and he ends the story with his father’s eagle perched on his wrist, which symbolizes how he has taken his place as the leader of the clan. As the Apes franchise expands its scope beyond just one tribe, Noa will have to face a different kind of challenge to Caesar. Noa matures a lot in Kingdom, but he still has a long way to go.
Noa and Mae’s relationship changes a lot in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, mainly because she conceals so much of her true self from him at first. Noa goes from thinking that Mae is a pest to seeing her as an ally, but their story ends in a more complex place. After the chaos inside the vault, Noa once again feels that he can’t trust Mae. Still, she stops by Eagle Clan’s village to say goodbye. This isn’t the gesture of someone who merely used Noa, and he reacts to it with mixed emotions. Their story still has a few chapters to go.
Noa and Mae’s relationship is representative of the entire dynamic between apes and humans. There is an inherent mistrust, even though there are plenty of moments in one-on-one situations where they show signs that they really can live together in harmony. Noa and Mae are unable to answer the question of whether humans and apes can coexist peacefully, but any sequels could explore this question further through their bond. Their evolving alliance is one of the most interesting factors in Kingdom, and sequels should bring Mae back as well as Noa.
The first Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy focused on Caesar’s clan, with only a few hints toward the end that there were other intelligent apes out there. This new era for the franchise shows a much more developed ape world, with several different clans and tribes. Noa is part of the Eagle Clan, but this is just one of many clans captured by Proximus and brought to live in his kingdom. Raka is part of the Order of Caesar, who he says have all but been wiped out, but this still proves that ape society is much more diverse than it was in Caesar’s time.
The different clans in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes could be vital to the future of the franchise, as Noa faces more challenges from other apes as well as humans. In particular, Proximus’ coastal kingdom could still be a huge threat to any apes in the area. Proximus’ death does not necessarily mean that the kingdom will completely dissolve, and another new leader could rise in his place. By warping the teachings of Caesar, Proximus inspired intense loyalty among his fellow apes, so this group will probably stick together.
Proximus believes that the contents of the vault will expedite the evolution of all apes, and it’s revealed later that the vault is actually a military silo packed full of weapons, equipment, and old human technology. Mae sets off the explosion which floods the vault, but this doesn’t mean that the contents will be lost forever. If any technology from the vault can be salvaged, it could grant the holder incredible power. Proximus’ masked army were able to achieve a lot with a few rudimentary cattle prods, so an ape with a gun would likely become the new king.
Mae only retrieves a SATCOM key and a gun from the vault, but other humans could also try to get into the vault. They would probably have a better idea of what to look for than apes, and many of them would have the ability to read too. This means that just a few books could revolutionize human society, teaching them how to use their technology. One other thing in the vault could be even more important to ape society. The humans have functioning electricity, but this is something the apes have yet to harness. Being able to extract a generator from the vault could usher in a new dawn for the apes.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes first teased the idea that there was a lost spaceship somewhere off in the solar system, but neither Dawn nor War provided any payoff. There was a popular Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes theory before release that Mae could be one of the astronauts, or a descendant of one, finally returning to space. This would have explained how she is more intelligent than the average human, but this idea turned out to be false, meaning that the lost astronauts tease still hasn’t been resolved.
There are a few other hints which suggest that this could still come back into play in future Planet of the Apes movies. For example, the ending of Kingdom shows a mural of an astronaut, which could be interpreted either as a hint or as merely another Easter egg. Many fans have speculated that the prequel movies will eventually lead up to a remake of the original Planet of the Apes from 1968, so the astronauts could be the same characters who appear in that movie. Even if this theory is also false, Kingdom certainly hints that the franchise’s future could be in space somehow.
When Mae and Noa are on their adventure together, they come across a huge telescope in an observatory. Their mutual fascination with the stars creates an early opportunity for them to bond, but Noa returns to the telescope with other apes after escaping from Proximus. They all gaze up at the stars in wonder, suggesting that they have their sights set on much more. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes mostly hints toward a trilogy focused on Noa’s journey, but this final tease suggests that a sequel could jump forward another few hundred years.
Of course, it’s worth noting that the telescope could merely symbolize the apes’ burgeoning ambition, something that they finally have in common with the humans. While Caesar and his tribe were content to live in peace and isolation, Proximus is the first ape to want human things like expansion and dominion. Noa could take this lesson from him and seek to establish a different kind of kingdom, governed by Caesar’s values of mercy and compassion. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes could just be the start of Noa’s ambitions.