New Delhi: Taking a beloved franchise with over 55 years of history and charting a new path is challenging, but filmmaker Wes Ball says he approached “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” with a lot of respect.
From the first film, Charlton Heston’s 1968 “Planet of the Apes,” to the recent trilogy starring Andy Serkis, the franchise has done “interesting and challenging things” with its storytelling, the director said.
“I grew up watching the original movie and that was my introduction to the ‘Planet of the Apes’ movies. And then, of course, what Rupert did in ‘Rise…’ and Matt did in ‘Dawn’ and ‘War.’
“This franchise has always done interesting and challenging things with its storytelling. And it has captivated audiences for almost 60 years. So, we were very conscious of the legacy that we had to try to live up to… We took it with a lot of respect, but also tried to be confident with our approach,” Ball said in an interview with PTI.
The franchise began with the 1968 film “Planet of the Apes,” starring Hollywood legend Heston as an astronaut who crash-lands on a planet dominated by an evolved ape species.
The film’s commercial and critical success spawned four sequels, after which Tim Burton attempted to reboot the series with his own film in 2001, but the film failed miserably at the box office.
The series was successfully revived again in 2011 with “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” which began a trilogy about the rise of intelligent apes led by Caesar, played by Serkis via motion capture. It was followed by two equally successful installments, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” and “War for the Planet of the Apes.”
Ball, best known for directing the “Maze Runner” film trilogy, said our job with “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” was to do a “soft reboot.”
“We didn’t want to throw away all the goodwill associated with Caesar’s story. I didn’t want to abandon that universe, but we needed to forge a new path into new territory.”
“It was a real challenge, but we all kept our heads down and moved forward with confidence. We were fortunate to continue the stories of these characters and ultimately get it where we wanted it to go. I think it’s going to be another great set of stories in this fantastic franchise.”
“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”, currently streaming on Disney Hotstar, is set several generations after Caesar’s reign and follows Noah, a young ape, and Meow, who embark on a journey that leads them to explore the past, forcing them to make choices that will define the future of apes and humans alike.
Ball said that as someone carrying forward a pre-established story, there’s always the burden of “what came before”.
“I felt it was important to carry forward the biblical story of these apes and tell how they rose to these incredible heights. So it was a bold move to make this story bigger than just one ape named Caesar.”
Unlike Serkis’ Caesar, who was a cumbersome leader in the previous trilogy, the new film is the story of Noah’s coming of age.
“It was about a young man and the idea of ​​seeing him go on this crazy adventure, going to parts of the world that at the beginning of the movie he was scared to go to.
He said, “I love the concept of a character who goes out into this world and we watch him go on a journey of discovery and knowledge… If we’re lucky enough to make three of these, it would be really fun to see this first chapter of Noah’s life and see where he ultimately ends up.”
On their adventure, Noah and Maeve meet Proximus Caesar, a radical leader who preaches a modified version of Caesar’s teachings to his tribe.
Ball states that there are many references to Proximus Caesar because “there have been individuals like him in human history”.
“There have been charismatic leaders who have real vision and real ideas. And that’s the great thing about Proximus, he believes in what he’s doing. He’s not just the mustache-twirling bad guy, he’s the hand that feeds you and the fist that will knock you down.”
He added, “The fact that he has two sides to him is interesting and fun. He’s a showman, charismatic and he’s like a preacher. These are the character types we’ve seen in the stories.”
When asked about the secret to the enduring legacy and popularity of the longest-running franchise in Hollywood history, Ball said it holds a mirror up to humanity.
“There’s something about apes in particular … they’re so close to us that we can connect with them on that level. But there’s also this weird thing about seeing ourselves and our humanity in them.”
“And because they’re different from us, we can judge them differently and see ourselves differently, which is why the first film, the Charlton Heston film, was really talking about racism and everything else. It allowed us to talk about tough subject matter through these sort of monkey characters.”
“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” also stars Peter Macon, Sarah Wiseman, William H. Macy and Lydia Peckham.
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