In Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, director Wes Ball is setting out to breathe new life into the franchise with a story set several generations in the future following Caesar's reign. Apes are now the dominant species living harmoniously and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows.
As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.
Playing that leader is Kevin Durand as the intriguingly named Proximus Caesar. Is he a descendant of the original Caesar or has the name become a title of sorts, used to pay homage to the ape who led the original uprising?
"He's the baddie," is all Durand would tell Total Film. "But it's coming down to, you know, homosapiens or apes and obviously he's on the side of the apes, so he’s willing to do whatever needs to happen, by any means necessary, to ensure a future for apekind."
"From the perspective of the narrative, he's definitely the baddie but yeah, when you watch the movie, you're like, 'Well, was he really that bad?'" Durand adds. "I mean, he’s definitely narcissistic, but, you know, he's just trying to ensure that his kind will go on."
As for what it's been like to get involved with those motion-capture effects, Durand called the process "incredible" before adding, "I mean, every movement, every expression came from the performance but they just have this wizardry going on over at Weta in New Zealand where they can really trick the human eye into seeing what they want you to see."
"It's pretty phenomenal to get to be a part of that, it was definitely a great highlight in my career."
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes stars Owen Teague (IT), Freya Allan (The Witcher), Kevin Durand (Locke & Key), Peter Macon (Shameless), and William H. Macy (Fargo).
The screenplay is by Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds) and Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (Avatar: The Way of Water) and Patrick Aison (Prey), based on characters created by Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, a new entry in 20th Century Studios' global, epic franchise, opens exclusively in theaters on May 10, 2024.