''War for the Planet of the Apes'' is a 2017 American

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstell ...

directed by

Matt Reeves Matt Reeves (born April 27, 1966) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He first gained recognition for the WB drama series '' Felicity'' (1998–2002), which he co-created with J. J. Abrams. Reeves came to widespread attenti ...

from a screenplay by Reeves and Mark Bomback, and produced by

Peter Chernin Peter Chernin (born May 29, 1951) is an American businessman and investor. He is the chairman and CEO of The Chernin Group (TCG), which he founded in 2010. TCG manages, operates and invests in businesses in the media, entertainment, and technolog ...

, Dylan Clark,

Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver Rick Jaffa (born May 8, 1956) and Amanda Silver (born May 24, 1963) are an American married screenwriting and film production duo.

. It is the sequel to ''

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes ''Dawn of the Planet of the Apes'' is a 2014 American science fiction film directed by Matt Reeves from a screenplay by Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. It is the sequel to '' Rise of the Planet of the Apes'' (2011), and the second ...

'' (2014) and the third installment in the ''Planet of the Apes'' reboot franchise. It stars

Andy Serkis Andrew Clement Serkis (born 20 April 1964) is an English actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his performance capture roles comprising motion capture acting, animation, and voice work for computer-generated characters such as Go ...

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

, alongside

Woody Harrelson Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor and playwright. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards ...

and

Steve Zahn Steven James Zahn (; born November 13, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. His film roles include '' Reality Bites'' (1994), '' That Thing You Do!'' (1996), '' Stuart Little'' (1999), '' Shattered Glass'' (2003), ''Sahara'' (2005), '' Chicken ...

. In the film, conflict between apes and humans has escalated into full war, and Caesar sets out to avenge those he has lost. Development for ''War for the Planet of the Apes'' began in January 2014, after

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio, film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm o ...

viewed Reeves' cut of its predecessor; his return was soon confirmed, along with Bomback's. A conditional 2016 release date was announced in May 2015, which led to a closer and faster pre-production relationship between writer and director. The film shares similarities to ''

Battle for the Planet of the Apes ''Battle for the Planet of the Apes'' is a 1973 American science fiction film directed by J. Lee Thompson. It is the fifth and final installment in the original '' Planet of the Apes'' series, produced by Arthur P. Jacobs, following '' Conquest ...

'' (1973), with emphasis on the impact of psychosocial development and interaction of apes and humans. Casting began in August 2015 and finished that October, with

principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

commencing soon thereafter and concluding in March 2016, with filming locations including Lower Mainland and the Kananaskis Range. ''War for the Planet of the Apes'' premiered on July 10, 2017 at the

SVA Theatre The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

in New York City, and was theatrically released worldwide by 20th Century Fox on July 14. The film received critical acclaim, with praise for Reeves' direction, Serkis' performance, visual effects, themes, emotional weight,

Michael Giacchino Michael Giacchino (; born October 10, 1967) is an American composer of music for films, television and video games. He has also served as a director for television. He has received many awards, including an Oscar for his work on '' Up'' (2009), a ...

's score, and

Michael Seresin Michael Stephen Seresin, ONZM BSC, (born 17 July 1942) is a New Zealand cinematographer and film director. In addition to his work in film, Seresin is a winemaker, having founded Seresin Estate in the Marlborough wine region in 1992. He is th ...

's cinematography. ''War for the Planet of the Apes'' was a commercial success, grossing over $490 million, and received numerous awards and nominations, including nominations for

Best Visual Effects This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress# ...

and Best Special Visual Effects at the

90th Academy Awards The 90th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2017 in film, films of 2017, and took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Californi ...

and

71st British Academy Film Awards The 71st British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, were held on 18 February 2018 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2017. Presented by the British Academy of Film and Televi ...

, respectively. A sequel, titled '' Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes'', is in development with a release date set for 2024.

Plot

Caesar and his tribe of intelligent apes have been forced to be at war with a human militia led by a ruthless colonel. A platoon assaults an ape outpost and several paramilitaries such as Preacher are captured. Caesar was not surprised when he was informed that there are apes derogatorily called "donkeys" serving the militia. The tribe releases the humans to show the colonel a desire for peace; the "donkey" named Red flees by injuring the ape Winter. Caesar's eldest son, Blue Eyes, and friend Rocket return from an

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentholy war": the simian flu has mutated and the infected become mute and devolve, and he had elected to kill his son and other carriers before they could infect other people. The U.S army is searching for a cure through the manipulation of nature again. The colonel publicly starves Caesar to force the tribe to work. The mute girl, named

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

by Maurice, sneaks into the facility to give Caesar water and her doll. Rocket allows himself to be captured to prevent Nova from being seen. The colonel later confiscates the doll. Caesar and Rocket manage to free the apes via an underground tunnel leading out of the facility. The facility comes under attack by the army and Caesar sneaks into the colonel's quarters and is about to shoot him but realizes the colonel has become mute after handling the doll. The colonel instead commits suicide. The escaping apes are caught in the crossfire. Caesar attempts to blow up a fuel tank to take out the militia from behind but is shot by Preacher. Red has a change of heart and kills Preacher but is immediately killed by another paramilitary. This allows Caesar to blow up the tank, triggering an avalanche that kills the militia and the army while the apes carry Nova and survive by climbing nearby trees. The apes and Nova reach the oasis. As Maurice and Caesar watch Nova and Caesar's son play in their new home, Maurice discovers Caesar's wound. He promises Caesar that his son will know who Caesar was and what he did for the apes before Caesar dies.

Cast

, a chimpanzee who is leader to a tribe of enhanced apes. *

as the Colonel, the leader of the paramilitary faction the Alpha-Omega. The militia employs around 400 militarized people, who remain confident as humanity's last bastion under the leadership of the Colonel. *

as Bad Ape, a chimpanzee who manages to flee from the

Sierra Safari Zoo The Sierra Safari Zoo is a zoo north of Reno, Nevada, United States. Opening in 1989, it has grown to become the zoo that houses more exotics in the state. It houses a wide variety of exotic animals from around the world, including primates, big c ...

after seeing his family and acquaintances being blamed for the simian flu and killed by the soldiers. * Toby Kebbell as Koba, a treacherous

bonobo The bonobo (; ''Pan paniscus''), also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often the dwarf chimpanzee or gracile chimpanzee, is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus '' Pan,'' the other being the co ...

who hates humans and is responsible for the war. Koba appears as a hallucination in front of Caesar. * Gabriel Chavarria as Preacher, a crossbowman commander in the Alpha-Omega militia and the Colonel's right hand. *

Judy Greer Judith Therese Evans (born July 20, 1975), known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress, who has appeared in a wide variety of films. She first rose to prominence in a variety of suppor ...

as Cornelia, Caesar's chimpanzee wife. *

Karin Konoval Karin Konoval (; born June 4, 1961) is Canadian-American actress who has appeared in theatre, numerous TV series and supporting lead roles in many feature films. Her screen credits include Maurice the Orangutan in ''Rise of the Planet of the Ape ...

as Maurice, a

Bornean orangutan The Bornean orangutan (''Pongo pygmaeus'') is a species of orangutan endemic to the island of Borneo. Together with the Sumatran orangutan (''Pongo abelii'') and Tapanuli orangutan (''Pongo tapanuliensis''), it belongs to the only genus of grea ...

and Caesar's loyal adviser and friend. * Terry Notary as Rocket, Caesar's loyal chimpanzee lieutenant. *

Michael Adamthwaite Michael David Adamthwaite (born September 1, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He is credited with providing the voice for many characters in various anime series. He is also known for portraying the Jaffa Herak in the science fiction television series ...

as Luca, a

western lowland gorilla The western lowland gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla gorilla'') is one of two Critically Endangered subspecies of the western gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla'') that lives in montane, primary and secondary forest and lowland swampland in central Afr ...

in Caesar's tribe. *

Ty Olsson Ty Olsson (born January 28, 1974) is a Canadian actor. He is known for playing Benny Lafitte in ''Supernatural'', real-life 9/11 victim Mark Bingham in the A&E television film ''Flight 93'', and Ord in the PBS Kids animated children's series ' ...

as Red, a western lowland gorilla who works for the Colonel as a "donkey". *

Devyn Dalton Devyn Dalton is a Canadian actress, stuntwoman, dancer and voice over artist. Career Devyn has starred in Nickelodeon's ''A Fairly Odd Christmas'' as Christmas Carol and '' Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library'' as Gretel. In '' War for the Plane ...

as Cornelius, Caesar's youngest chimpanzee son. *

Sara Canning Sara Canning (born July 14, 1987) is a Canadian actress. She co-starred on The CW television series ''The Vampire Diaries'' as Jenna Sommers, and appeared in the 2009 feature film, '' Black Field''. She starred as Dylan Weir in the Canadian tele ...

as Lake, Blue Eyes' chimpanzee wife. She takes care of Cornelius. *

Aleks Paunovic Aleks Paunovic (born June 29, 1969) is a Canadian actor. Paunovic is from Winnipeg, Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canad ...

as Winter, an

albino Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino. Varied use and interpretation of the term ...

western lowland gorilla in Caesar's tribe, who later joins forces with the Colonel. * Amiah Miller as Nova, an orphan who is mute. * Max Lloyd-Jones as Blue Eyes, Caesar's eldest chimpanzee son. *

Roger Cross Roger Cross (born October 19, 1969) is a Jamaican-born Canadian actor who has made numerous appearances in several films and television series, mostly on productions shot in Canada. He is known for his work as CTU Agent Curtis Manning in the ...

as the Captain from the Alpha-Omega platoon. * Mercedes De La Zerda as Lang, a soldier whose life is spared after the platoon assault failed and the survivors were captured. Later, she participates in the infiltration team at that night. * Chad Rook as Boyle, a soldier from the quarantine facility who sees the construction of the defensive wall.

Production

Development

After seeing his cut of ''Dawn'',

and

Chernin Entertainment Chernin Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded and owned by former News Corporation president and chief operating officer Peter Chernin, also CEO and chairman of the company. Jenno Topping is the current Head ...

signed

to return as director for a third installment of the reboot series. In January 2014, the studio announced the third film, with Reeves returning to direct and co-write along with Bomback, and Peter Chernin, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver serving as producers. During an interview in mid-November 2014 with

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, Andy Serkis said they did not know the next film's setting. "...It could be five years after the event. It could be the night after the events of where we left ''Dawn''." In May 2015, the title was first given as ''War of the Planet of the Apes''. By October 2015, it had been retitled as ''War for the Planet of the Apes''. When director Reeves and screenwriter Bomback came on board to helm ''Dawn'', the film already had a release date, which led to an accelerated production schedule. However, with the third installment, Fox wanted to give the duo plenty of time to write and make the film. Taking advantage of this, the two bonded with each other more than before. In interviews for ''Dawn'', Reeves talked about the inevitable war Caesar would have with the humans: "As this story continues, we know that war is not avoided by the end of ''Dawn''. That is going to take us into the world of what he is grappling with. Where he is going to be thrust into circumstances that he never, ever wanted to deal with, and was hoping he could avoid. And now he is right in the middle of it. The things that happen in that story test him in huge ways, in the ways in which his relationship with Koba haunts him deeply. It's going to be an epic story. I think you've probably read that I sort of described it where in the first film was very much about his rise from humble beginnings to being a revolutionary. The second movie was about having to rise to the challenge of being a great leader in the most difficult of times. This is going to be the story that is going to cement his status as a seminal figure in ape history, and sort of leads to an almost biblical status. He is going to become like a mythic ape figure, like Moses." Toby Kebbell, who portrayed Koba in ''Dawn'', had expressed interest in reprising his role or performing as other characters. Plans to include Koba in a larger role in the film were abandoned early, with Bomback saying, "If you stayed until the very end of ''Dawn of the Planet of the Apes'', you hear Koba's breathing. We did that to give us a tiny crack of a possibility that we could revive Koba if we wanted to. Very early on in spitballing, we realized there was nothing more to do with Koba—certainly nothing that would exceed what he had done in the last story. But we knew we wanted to keep him alive as an idea. In playing out the reality of what happened at the end of the last film, Caesar would be traumatized by having to kill his brother. That would have resonance, and we wanted to make sure that did not get lost. So the answer was that we could go inside Caesar's mind at this point and revisit Koba that way."

Casting

In August 2015, '' Deadline'' reported that Gabriel Chavarria had been cast as one of the humans in the film. In September 2015, ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'' announced that

had been cast as the film's antagonist, and that Chavarria's role was supporting. In October 2015,

TheWrap ''TheWrap'' is an American online news website covering the business of entertainment and media via digital, print and live events. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman in 2009. Awards ''TheWrap'' has won awards for its journalism, incl ...

reported that

was cast as a new ape in the film. It was also announced that actress Amiah Miller was cast as one of the film's humans, with

and

reprising their roles as Cornelia and Maurice, while

and

were cast as new apes.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

on the film began on October 14, 2015, in the Lower Mainland in Vancouver, under the working title ''Hidden Fortress''. Filming was expected to take place there until early March 2016. Parts of the film were expected to shoot for up to five days in the Kananaskis in late January and early February. In March, Serkis confirmed that he had finished shooting his portions.

Visual effects

As with ''Rise'' and ''Dawn'', the visual effects for ''War'' were created by Weta Digital; the apes were created with a mixture of motion-capture and CGI key-frame animation, as they were performed in motion-capture technology and animated in CGI.

Influences

New York Comic-Con The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. History The New York Comic Con is a for- ...

2016, Reeves explained that he and Bomback were influenced by many films before writing. He said, "One of the first things that Mark and I did because we had just finished ''Dawn'' was that we decided to watch a million movies. We decided to do what people fantasize what Hollywood screenwriters get to do but no one actually does. We got Fox to give us a theater and we watched movie after movie. We watched every ''Planet of the Apes'' movie, war movies, westerns, '' Empire Strikes Back''... We just thought, 'We have to pretend we have all the time in the world,' even though we had limited time. We got really inspired." According to Reeves, the treacherous apes being nicknamed "donkeys" is both a reference to the video game character

Donkey Kong is a video game franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto and owned by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of a gorilla named Donkey Kong and his clan of other apes and monkeys. The franchise primarily consists of platform games—originally s ...

and the fact that they are used as "pack mules". Additionally, during production, Reeves and Bomback sought broader inspirations from films like ''

The Bridge on the River Kwai ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' is a 1957 epic film, epic war film directed by David Lean and based on the The Bridge over the River Kwai, 1952 novel written by Pierre Boulle. Although the film uses the historical setting of the construction of ...

'' and '' The Great Escape''. Feeling that there was a need to imbue Biblical themes and elements, they also watched Biblical epics like ''

Ben-Hur Ben-Hur or Ben Hur may refer to: Fiction *'' Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'', an 1880 novel by American general and author Lew Wallace ** ''Ben-Hur'' (play), a play that debuted on Broadway in 1899 ** ''Ben Hur'' (1907 film), a one-reel silent ...

'' and ''

The Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ� ...

''. The influences and inspirations were made evident in the relationship between Caesar and

's Colonel, a military leader with pretensions toward godhood. Reeves has compared their relationship to the dynamic between

Alec Guinness Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. After an early career on the stage, Guinness was featured in several of the Ealing comedies, including '' Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1 ...

's British Commander and

Sessue Hayakawa , known professionally as , was a Japanese actor and a matinée idol. He was a popular star in Hollywood during the silent film era of the 1910s and early 1920s. Hayakawa was the first actor of Asian descent to achieve stardom as a leading man ...

's prison camp Colonel in ''Bridge on the River Kwai''. Another comparison is in Caesar's journey to find the Colonel, flanked by a posse of close friends—a situation Reeves explicitly tied to

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "'' D ...

's war-weary soldier in ''

The Outlaw Josey Wales ''The Outlaw Josey Wales'' is a 1976 American Revisionist Western film set during and after the American Civil War. It was directed by and starred Clint Eastwood (as Josey Wales), with Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, Sam Bottoms, and Gerald ...

''. Influences from the film ''

Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph C ...

'', notably Harrelson's character and his Alpha-Omega faction being similar to

Colonel Kurtz Colonel Walter Kurtz, portrayed by Marlon Brando, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 film '' Apocalypse Now''. Colonel Kurtz is based on the character of a nineteenth-century ivory trader, also call ...

's renegade army, were also noted by several journalists. Harrelson has also acknowledged the similarities and inspiration. In the third act of the film, the words "Ape-ocalypse Now" are written on a wall in the Colonel's prison camp.

Music

On October 17, 2015, it was confirmed that Reeves' frequent collaborator

, who composed its predecessor, would return to score for ''War for the Planet of the Apes''. For Caesar, Giacchino had wrote few emotional themes that would focus on the character's emotional side, with Reeves' idea on turning Caesar into a sort of "mythical and historical character" and referred him to

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Exo ...

or Moses. Several themes were created on the character dynamics, his relationship with Nova and a theme for Colonel, had been produced into that process. The soundtrack was digitally released to iTunes and

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

on July 14, 2017, and in its physical form by

Sony Classical Records Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by ...

on July 28, 2017.

Release

The film was initially set for a July 15, 2016, release. However, in January 2015, Fox postponed the film's release date to about a year later on July 14, 2017.

Marketing

Special behind-the-scenes footage for the film was aired on TV on November 22, 2015, as part of a contest announcement presented by director

and

. The footage aired during '' The Walking Dead'' on AMC. The announcement allowed winners to wear a performance-capture suit and appear in a scene as an ape. The announcement was released on 20th Century Fox's official YouTube page later the same day. At a

New York Comic Con The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. History The New York Comic Con is a ...

special event on October 6, 2016, Reeves, Serkis and producer Dylan Clark debuted an exclusive look at the film. Serkis has also mentioned that the film would be accompanied by a video game, for which he performed motion capture. Titled '' Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier'', the game was released for the

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

and PC in fall 2017.

Reception

Box office

''War for the Planet of the Apes'' grossed $146.9 million in the United States and Canada and $343.8 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $490.7 million, against a production budget of $150–152 million. In North America, the film was projected to gross $50–60 million in its opening weekend; however, given its acclaimed status and strong word-of-mouth, rival studios believed the film had the potential to debut as high as $70–80 million. ''War'' was closely monitored by analysts while the summer was witnessing a decline in ticket sales, a situation that they blamed on franchise fatigue for an overabundance of sequels and reboots (such as '' Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales'', '' Transformers: The Last Knight'' and '' The Mummy''). However, box office analysts noted that well-reviewed films have tended to perform in-line with estimates (''

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ''Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'' is a 2017 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel t ...

'', ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byrne, are credited as being ...

'' and '' Spider-Man: Homecoming''). The film grossed $5 million from Thursday night previews at 3,021 theaters, up 22% from the $4.1 million earned by its predecessor, and $22.1 million on its first day. It went on to debut to $56.3 million, topping the box office, albeit with a 22% drop from ''Dawn''s $72.6 million debut. In its second weekend, the film grossed $20.9 million (a drop of 62.9%, more than the 50.1% fall ''Dawn'' saw), finishing 4th at the box office. In its third weekend, the film made $10.5 million (dropping another 49.9%), finishing 6th at the box office. It was lower than the third weeks of both ''Rise'' ($16.1 million) and ''Dawn'' ($16.8 million).

Critical response

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, the film holds approval rating based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critics consensus reads, "''War for the Planet of the Apes'' combines breathtaking special effects and a powerful, poignant narrative to conclude this rebooted trilogy on a powerful—and truly blockbuster—note."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 82 out of 100 based on 50 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. ''War for the Planet of the Apes'' received praise for the cast's performances (particularly Serkis'), Reeves' direction, visual effects, musical score, cinematography and its morally complex storyline. Scott Collura of

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa dist ...

awarded the film a score of 9.5 out of 10, saying: "''War for the Planet of the Apes'' is an excellent closing act to this rebooted trilogy, but also one that does enough world-building that the series can potentially continue from here—and it's a rare case where, after three movies, we're left wanting more." A. O. Scott of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said of the film, "''War for the Planet of the Apes'', directed by Matt Reeves, is the grimmest episode so far, and also the strongest, a superb example—rare in this era of sloppily constructed, commercially hedged cinematic universes—of clear thinking wedded to inventive technique in popular filmmaking," and lauded Andy Serkis's performance in the film, stating that "Andy Serkis's performance as Caesar is one of the marvels of modern screen acting."

Peter Travers Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...

of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, and said that Serkis performed "with a resonant power and depth of feeling that's nearly Shakespearean. Oscar, get busy: Serkis deserves the gold," and went on to say that "''War for the Planet of the Apes''—No. 9 in the simian cinema canon—is the best of the Apes films since the 1968 original." Eric Kohn of

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...

gave the film a B+ rating, and praised Matt Reeves's directing, saying "It's a given that an expensive 21st-century sci-fi movie with talking animals, exploding tanks, and jarring machine guns would look and sound great, but Reeves applies these effects with such a measured strategy that they're always working in service of a greater narrative agenda." Kohn went on to applaud the visuals and musical score, stating that "The breathlessly paced montage of flying bullets and angry monkeys raining down on terrified men, aided by Michael Giacchino's vibrant score, is a strong indicator of the next-level craftsmanship that distinguishes these movies from so many cacophonous Hollywood spectacles; not only is the action easy to follow, but you care for the motion-captured characters at the center of it, while the humans cower in fear."

Home media

''War for the Planet of the Apes'' was released on Digital HD on October 10, 2017, and on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of s ...

and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

on October 24, 2017, by

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment (commonly referred to as 20th Home Video, or 20th Home Entertainment, formerly known as 20th Century-Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video, Fox Video, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is a home video label of ...

Accolades

Sequel

According to screenwriter Rick Jaffa, a version of the spaceship from the 1968 ''Planet of the Apes'' under the name ''

Icarus In Greek mythology, Icarus (; grc, Ἴκαρος, Íkaros, ) was the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the architect of the labyrinth of Crete. After Theseus, king of Athens and enemy of Minos, escaped from the labyrinth, King Minos sus ...

'' was in ''Rise of the Planet of the Apes'' as a deliberate hint to a possible sequel readapting the events of the original film, something the end of ''War'' also implies, featuring a younger version of the character Nova. During an interview of Andy Serkis with

in mid-November 2014, Serkis talked about possible sequels: "It might be three films, It could be four. It could be five. Who knows? The journey will continue." By October 2016, it was reported that a fourth ''Planet of the Apes'' film was being discussed. Shortly before the release of ''War'' in July 2017, Reeves said that he expressed interest in making more ''Apes'' films and that Steve Zahn, who played Bad Ape in the film, had set up a story for further sequels. Writer Mark Bomback hinted that more films would be possible, saying, "Truthfully, we haven't had those kinds of conversations. I've been working on these films for about seven years now. I'm ready to take a breather and let things rest a bit." In April 2019, following the

acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney The acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney was announced on December 14, 2017, and was completed on March 20, 2019. Among other key assets, the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by the Walt Disney Company included the 20th Century Fox film and ...

, Disney announced that future ''Planet of the Apes'' films are in development. It was also confirmed in August 2019 that any future installments would take place in the same universe first established in ''

Rise Rise or RISE may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * '' Rise: The Vieneo Province'', an internet-based virtual world * Rise FM, a fictional radio station in the video game ''Grand Theft Auto 3'' * Rise Kujikawa, a vide ...

.'' On December 3, 2019, it was reported that

Wes Ball Wes Ball (born October 28, 1980) is an American film director, visual effects artist and graphic artist. He is best known for directing the ''Maze Runner'' film trilogy, based on James Dashner's series of novels of the same name. Ball's next fil ...

is currently set to write and direct an untitled ''Planet of the Apes'' film. On February 17, 2020, it was reported that the film will be produced by Joe Hartwick Jr. and David Starke. Later that same day, Ball confirmed that he would be directing the film, and that it would be set after the events of ''War'', following "Caesar's legacy". On May 26, 2020, Ball revealed that

Josh Friedman Josh Friedman (born 14 February 1967) is an American screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for his work on the science-fiction action genre, including on the series '' Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles'', the film adapta ...

will write the screenplay, while Jaffa and Silver will return as producers. He also said that, while the film will be set in the same universe as ''Rise'', it won't be a direct sequel to ''War'', saying that the film "will feel" like a follow-up to the overall ''Rise'' trilogy, but at the same time, the filmmakers will "do some really cool new stuff". Ball also said that the film could begin virtual production soon in spite of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

due to it being a mostly CGI film. In a March 2022 interview with ''

'', 20th Century Studios president Steve Asbell stated that production would start between the late summer or early fall of 2022. In August 2022, Owen Teague was cast in the lead role. In September 2022, it was announced that the fourth movie in the current franchise would be titled ''Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes'', that Freya Allan was cast as the human lead with Peter Macon co-starring, and that the film would be released in 2024.

has been tabbed to direct the film, and it will pick up many years after the end of ''War for the Planet of the Apes.'' Production for the film began in October 2022 in Sydney at Disney Studios Australia.

Notes

References

External links

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