13-Minute Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes Trailer Shows New Main Character’s Origin Story At CinemaCon

Summary

• The
  Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
  trailer is revealed at CinemaCon, set centuries after prior events.
• The trailer focuses on Noa’s tragic backstory, highlighting the impact of Proximus Caesar’s evil.
• The relationship between Noa and Mae is hinted at, as Noa saves Mae from harm.

A massive Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes trailer has just dropped at CinemaCon. Continuing on with the popular Planet of the Apes franchise, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes‘ timeline begins centuries after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes. The film features a leading cast including Freya Allan, William H. Macy, Peter Macon, Owen Teague, Kevin Durand, and Dichen Lachman, and is set for release on May 10.

A 13-minute trailer for Kingdom for the Planet of the Apes has now been revealed at CinemaCon, and Screen Rant was on hand to check it out. The footage begins by showing a sweeping landscape that appears to be a city from a bygone era. Through the overgrowth, the apes are revealed swinging through the derelict edifices, and have an exchange described as the following:

Three apes are seen scaling and swinging between the buildings. One of them does a cool move and is called a “show off” by one of the other apes. They eventually find the hawk and its nest, and they whisper to each other so as to not alert it.

Once the hawk flies away, they go up to the nest and find three eggs. “Three. Only three,” the female ape says. One of the other apes says, “Take them all,” but he’s held back by Noa, presumably, who says to always leave one egg behind. They then choose which two eggs to take.

“We will raise them together, like we were raised. It will be the same,” the female ape says to the other two, talking about the unhatched eggs.

As the apes return to their camp on horseback, Noa is informed that his father is waiting for him. Noa’s father warns him of the destruction that Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ villain Proximus Caesar is capable of as the scene cuts to a shot of Proximus Caesar burning down Noa’s village. Noa becomes the only survivor of this attack. Among the deceased is his father, whose death Noa reacts to emotionally:

Noa kneels beside him and cries. He then buries him and says, “Father, I will find them. I will bring them home.” Noa gets on the horse and leaves his village, with a spear-type weapon in his hand. He arrives at an old railroad tunnel — on the ground he sees footprints of the apes his village. He charges through the dark tunnel and comes out from the other side and sees an old metropolis.

This Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes Trailer Promises Strong Characterization

Noa And Mae Will Be Well-Rounded Leads

After focusing on Noa, the trailer switches environments and finds Allan’s Mae in the field. Mae is being chased by a gorilla who was shown earlier in the trailer rooting through Noa’s father’s tent. Noa tried to fight that gorilla, but was thrown from a burning tower as his village burned down. In an attempt to save Mae, Noa successfully charges at the gorilla, saving Mae’s life. The trailer then ends with the quote, “Remember what it means to be ape.”

This Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes trailer footage reveals the harrowing and tragic backstory behind Noa’s character. Through Noa, Proximus Caesar’s evil is far more tangible. The villain is not an amorphously ruthless dictator, but an antagonist whose malevolence has directly impacted the lead character. In this case, the brutal pillaging and burning of Noa’s village resulted in the death of not only his father, but everyone he knew.

This history also gives context to the closeness in the relationship between Noa and Mae. Noa and Mae had previously interacted in other Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes trailers, but with Noa’s backstory outlined, it is clear that the two are drawn together by their mutual place as misfits. A lot of the sequel’s promotion, including the most recent Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes teaser trailer, has emphasized Mae, so the CinemaCon trailer’s focus on Noa makes it promising that his character will also be thoughtfully realized on screen.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

will be released on May 10.