New Planet of the Apes film title announced

Article by Kieran Burt.

20th Century Studios has announced that the title for the new Planet of the Apes film announced earlier this year will be Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. 

The Witcher actress Freya Allan will star as the lead, alongside Owen Teague and Peter Macon. 

A first look at the film has also been unveiled, with a picture of an Ape riding a horse and with an eagle toward a ruined city. 

The film will be directed by Wes Ball, best known for his work on The Maze Runner trilogy. Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver and Patrick Aison will pen the script. 

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will pick up several years after 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes.

“Planet of the Apes is one of the most iconic and storied science fiction franchises in film history, as well as being an indelible part of our studio’s legacy. With Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes we are privileged to continue the series’ tradition of imaginative, thought-provoking cinema, and can’t wait to share Wes’ extraordinary vision for this new chapter with audiences in 2024,” said Steve Asbell, President of 20th Century Studios.

Currently, plot details are unknown. It’s also unknown if  Andy Serkis will return as Caesar in the upcoming film. 

Planet of the Apes centres around a conflict between extremely intelligent apes and humans for dominance over Earth. 

The franchise is long running, first created as a book titled La Planète des singes by French author Pierre Boulle in 1963. 20th Century Fox acquired the rights to adapt this work as a film, with the first iteration debuting in 1968. 

Since then, a trilogy of films starring Andy Serkis has been released, titled Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is set to release in 2024, though no firm date has been announced. The film will start production next month.