Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes carries on the modern reboot trilogy in a clever way, brilliantly copying a pivotal Caesar moment. Caesar is the main character of the modern Planet of the Apes trilogy, with him being the star of the first three films. However, due to his death, Caesar does not appear in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes outside of his funeral scene, leaving the film to find a way to cleverly pay homage to him.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is finally here, with the highly anticipated continuation of the beloved sci-fi franchise now out. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes continues the story of the modern Planet of the Apes movies, taking place generations after the fall of humanity and the death of Caesar. Despite this Planet of the Apes timeline change, Caesar’s legacy still plays a huge role in the film, leading to it copying one of his most iconic moments.
As it turns out, Mae is able to talk in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, something that comes as a surprise to the characters and viewers alike. This is first revealed when she calls out Noa’s name during the ape hunt for humans, although her cry for help contains a neat reference to a previous film.
The way in which Mae screams out “Noa” sounds incredibly similar to Caesar’s first word in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, with this parallel most likely being on purpose. In Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Caesar’s first word is a booming “No” when one of the humans is abusing him, with this being one of the most iconic scenes in the franchise. Due to its importance to the series, it makes sense for Mae’s first word to mirror Caesar’s.
Mae doesn’t talk for nearly half of the movie, leading many viewers to wonder why she waited so long to reveal her voice. Mae being able to talk in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes actually isn’t the product of the Simian Flu, as was the case with Caesar, with her instead being able to talk the whole time but choosing not to.
As it turns out, Mae comes from a small clan of humans that are not feral like most of the other ones seen in the film. However, Mae’s clan knows that their ability to speak would make them a target of the apes, leading to them choosing to not say anything. Mae only reveals that she can speak to Noa when she absolutely has to, a cat that does not get put back into the bag for the rest of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.