Warning: This article contains spoilers for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes star Kevin Durand discusses the fate of his character Proximus Caesar. The new Planet of the Apes film, directed by Wes Ball, follows Noa as he seeks revenge for his father’s death and seeks to save his family from enslavement, all of this done by the malevolent hands of Proximus. By the end of the film, Noa gets his revenge and saves his family in a climactic moment where he and his fellow apes use their aviary friends to defeat Proximus, sending him soaring down a cliff and into the ocean.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Durand discusses the fate and future of his character Proximus, saying that it’s possible that Proximus survived his fall. He points out that Proximus’ body isn’t really shown, only a splash in the water. He also says that the chimpanzee is a large, magnificent creature, and ends the quote by saying that he thinks there is a chance that Proximus survived. Read Durand’s full quote below:
Despite Durand’s comments, it seems unlikely that Proximus survived his fall from the cliff in the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ending. At a certain point (around 300 feet), falling into water becomes equivalent to falling on concrete. It’s hard to tell exactly how high the cliff in the film is, so Proximus’ fate is ultimately ambiguous though, through movie magic, it’s possible that he survived the fall and his wounds from the eagles. While he is the movie’s main villain, Proximus is a strong character who could make his survival likely.
Those behind the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes have two clear options for the character, if he survived. They could double-down and continue his reign as a villain seeking revenge for his near-death experience, or they could make him a character who finally sees the wrong in what he did and have Proximus seek redemption instead. Of the two, the latter would be the more compelling and optimistic route to take.
Proximus is indeed a complex character, one who had good intentions for the apes but, through his ambition, ended up twisting the mantras of Caesar to fit his dark execution of trying to achieve progress for the apes. As Durand himself notes, the character may not have enjoyed doing what he had to do, but felt he had no other choice in order to maintain apes’ reign in the world. So, seeing more Proximus in the sequels to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes wouldn’t at all be a bad thing, as long as they continue to give the character more complexity and depth.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and War for the Planet of the Apes are all available to stream on Hulu.
Source: THR