The following contains light spoilers for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, now playing in theaters
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the epic continuation of the franchise, but its expansive cast can raise the question of who the main character is. The 2024 film is the fourth installment in the rebooted Planet of the Apes series, set after the core trilogy and taking place years after War for the Planet of the Apes. Across Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and the aforementioned third film, the central character was Caesar, Andy Serkis’ ape leader.
The trilogy depicted Caesar’s journey as the head of a highly-evolved tribe of apes from his early life to his death, played masterfully by Serkis. Caesar’s death, however, begged the question of who would continue the franchise after the announcement of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ story. Despite these questions and new director Wes Ball, it seems Matt Reeves’ Planet of the Apes vision will be carried out thanks to a compelling new lead character and central performance.
Despite the ending of War for the Planet of the Apes, the main character in the sequel is not Cornelius, but rather the young ape Noa. Cornelius being the last surviving member of Caesar’s family after the third film’s tragic opening was a big aspect of the latter’s personal arc, as he sought a safer home for his son and the rest of their tribe. Caesar managed to lead Cornelius and the rest of the apes to an oasis, dying shortly afterward. However, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes takes place untold generations later.
This sets up the franchise’s shift over to Noa’s story. This transition is just one of Planet of the Apes 4’s exciting turns as Noa ventures into the wider world in search of his stolen tribe, forcing him to come up against an ape tyrant who has corrupted the teachings of Caesar. Beyond Caesar’s teachings, the film is largely disconnected from the prior trilogy, instead fleshing out the world that was left in Caesar’s wake. While there are references to Caesar and his teachings, Noa has no idea who he was or the impact he had on the world.
Owen Teague plays Noa in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,taking the lead in the franchise in the wake of Serkis’ departure. Teague is a relatively up-and-coming actor. He is primarily known for his performances in The Stand, Inherit the Viper, Bloodline, and Black Mirror season 4, episode 2, “Arkangel.” While it may seem like a daunting task to replace Andy Serkis as the motion-capture lead in the Apes franchise, Teague rises to the occasion and delivers a strong performance as Noa.
Teague gives a very different performance than Serkis’ Ceasar in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. The film establishes that the apes in the franchise have evolved further than before, capable of speaking entire, fluent sentences and developing new practices like falconry. While Caesar could speak by the third film, he was still portrayed as a man — or more aptly ape — of few words. Teague gets the opportunity to give a much more vocal performance than the cast of the original trilogy did, finding a greater mix of spoken and physical acting.
Given the time-skip and shift in focus from Caesar to Noa, no other characters from the previous three movies make an appearance in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. While the teachings of Caesar are brought up in the film and play into some of the film’s underlying themes, there’s no indication of what became of Cornelius and the others who personally knew Caesar. This plays into the film’s shifted focus to Noa, as well as the ability of Proxmius to twist Caesar’s teachings.
That said, the fate of Cornelius could be explored in future films. After all, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes may kickstart a new trilogy for the franchise. This was revealed by Deadline‘s Justin Kroll who stated on Twitter that Disney was overly satisfied with Ball’s script with the studio being hopeful it would lead to a new trilogy. If this turns out to be the case, Noa could encounter dangerous enemies on his continuing journeys after the events of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, which could lead him back to the oasis and Caesar’s apes.
Noa’s arc is a more traditional heroes’ journey than seen in previous entries in the franchise. When Noa is introduced, he’s a young ape trying to prove himself to his father as a potential new master of the birds. When Proxmius’ forces attack his tribe, steal his people, and kill his father, Noa sets out to find them and bring them home. This journey forces Noa to confront hidden truths about the world and challenge his old perceptions, especially when he meets (and forges an uneasy alliance) with the human Mae. In function, Noa’s story is a classic hero’s journey.
By contrast, Caesar and the other modern Planet of the Apes characters were more complex, reacting to a world where they were considered animals and forced to into a war they didn’t want. Noa has a far more straightforward story, which gains moral complexity as it goes on. The ending of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes introduces new potential complications if the series continues, hinting Noa may face the same moral challenges that haunted Caesar. For now though, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has a more straightforward hero than other entries in the series.
Source: Twitter