Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes’ Strange Star Wars Influence

Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes has been detailed for the first time since its trailer. In a new interview, director Wes Ball lifts the lid on its plot, its tone, and its unlikely Star Wars influence.

“When I first started on it, I said, ‘I feel like Apes needs a little bit of Star Wars’,” Ball tells Empire. “It’s all still very grounded in reality, but it is essentially a quest narrative. Our main character – the young, impressionable Noa [Owen Teague] – meets characters along the way and becomes awakened as he winds up in a place that will test him, and he ultimately becomes his true self.”

Six years on from War For The Planet Of The Apes, it takes place after Ceaser’s reign, while exploring what happened prior to the events of the original 1968 movie.

“We haven’t kiddified it, or Disneyfied it, if I’m allowed to say that!” Ball says on the film’s tone. "But we have brought a younger spirit to it.”

With the previous trilogy that ran from 2011-2017 getting progressive darker and more post-apocalyptic, Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes seems to shoot for more brighter optimism.

Related: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Trailer Swings in

And it does that by leaving a large gap between the last film. “I wanted to do a big leap forward in time,” says The Maze Runner director. “It’s significant enough that Caesar is still a spirit in the movie, but most of his living relatives are not in this picture. If the last three movies were the Stone Age, here we get to see what happens when they enter the Bronze Age.”

If you needed a Star Wars refresher, by the way, check out our Stars Wars: Ahsoka review roundup.

Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes swings into theatres 24 May, 2024.