Original franchise star Charlton Heston is used as the narrator for a teaser announcing the arrival of the final trailer for War for the Planet of the Apes. The modern reboot of the legendary sci-fi property has arguably morphed into one of the most surprising film series of the 21st century, as the previous two installments were praised for their revolutionary visual effects and compelling storylines that captivated audiences. What started as James Franco teaching sign language to a chimp is now an epic conflict for the future of Earth between humans and apes. This third entry promises to be another visually stunning work from director Matt Reeves, serving up plenty of action and emotion.

20th Century Fox has already put together a great marketing campaign, with a couple of trailers highlighting the main conflict that emerges between Andy Serkis’ Caesar and his new foe The Colonel, played by Woody Harrelson. There are about two months to go until the film’s premiere (as of this writing), so the studio is about to enter the home stretch of advertising. A few days ago, it was reported a final trailer would make its way online soon – ahead of the debut of Fox’s Alien: Covenant. Now, a teaser for said preview (coming out tomorrow) has been released. You can watch it above.

The video consists of archive footage depicting the evolution of the human race, interlaced with short clips from both Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Heston, who starred in the 1968 original, serves as the narrator with a monologue that seems to be taken from his book In The Arena. In it, the actor refuses to accept the end of man since they have a soul and spirit capable of compassion and endurance. It’s a fitting passage given the tone and themes of War. The final shot is a beautifully-rendered close-up of Caesar, who appears to be waking up from a nightmare.

War for the Planet of the Apes is near the top of many most anticipated lists this summer, and for good reason. Its predecessor was one of the strongest offerings of 2014 from both a technical and narrative perspective (and was also helmed by Reeves), and viewers can’t wait to see where the story goes from there. Though the trailers have so far hinted at a hard-hitting war movie, things won’t be all dour. Reeves has said his film has more humor than the other movies, implying his latest blockbuster will be well-rounded in its presentation. Even when a story is “darker” by design, a little levity is important to have so things don’t get too depressing. Maybe some comic relief bits will be showcased in this upcoming preview.

The new Apes films have not only done well with critics, they’ve been box office successes. Dawn grossed $710.6 million worldwide, so the studio is of course leaving the door open for more installments beyond War. That said, with a title card reading “Witness the End,” it would appear the third installment of this trilogy is going to have some semblance of finality to it. Since this is the Planet of the Apes series, it’s safe to predict which side will emerge victorious, but how exactly that came to be is a mystery saved for later this summer.



[Screen Rant]

thx @Axort