WARNING-Spoilers for War for the Planet of the Apes.

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War for the Planet of the Apes is very much an ending. It’s the cap on Caesar’s trilogy, with Andy Serkis’ revolutionary ape dying in no uncertain tragic-yet-noble terms in the final minutes, and as his disciples gather around his body there’s a sense of a new dawn; humanity as we know it has seemingly been eradicated, with hubristic science bringing it to its knees and reactionary fighting (the real war of the title) finishing off both sides. But while there’s that finality from a character and narrative perspective, it’s not going to be the last Planet of the Apes film.

Once a forgotten relic of the pre-Star Wars franchise age, Planet of the Apes has through this prequel trilogy emerged as being at the very forefront of blockbuster cinema. Of course, like the original film’s groundbreaking makeup, its mo-cap work has revolutionized the way the industry operates, with a remarkable improvement in both the animation and real world integration even from film to film. But more than that, it’s not lost any of the high-minded, philosophical bent, with the original themes of man’s self-destruction paired with a greater sense of intimacy. And, above all, they have been successful – War is expected to push the series past $2 billion at the worldwide box office. There’s more to be done here.

Indeed, while the film is being marketed as the end, those involved have been quite open about future sequel plans. Matt Reeves has discussed how the current plan is to explore the wider world that Bad Ape, the first evolved ape not from Caesar’s company, nods towards; a semi-direct continuation that accepts a planet of apes and moves on into the conflicts that arise between the recently-intelligent simians. Alongside that, though, he’s said all of this will not take us to a remake of the original.

We would respectfully disagree and say that at this point going to that era with that concept is the absolute best way for POTA to go.

First, let’s make clear what we mean by that scandalous “remake” term and, in doing so, clarify how exactly the prequel movies fit into the series anyway. After all, calling Rise, Dawn and Wars “prequels” is incredibly misleading; yes, they are chronologically set before the 3978 of the original, but they’re not on the same timeline. There is some mild debate on this, but based on both what those producing and directing the series have said over the years and what’s explicitly in the movies, we can safely say the global breakdown Caesar’s catalysed doesn’t lead to the same Planet Charlton Heston landed on. Rise was a fresh start, exemplified by how it was actually itself remaking Conquest for the Planet of the Apes, the fourth in the original run that showed the origins of the ape rebellions.

That narrative quirk is the big reason the end goal isn’t the 1968 film – the new installments are remaking lesser-known entries from the original series full of homage and extension, meaning they directly contradict the first movie. You could make some argument of time displacement and inevitability, but the new series has been able to ditch most of the weirder parts of the Apes canon (no mutants, for one) and with it needlessly complex time travel.

And so what we have with this new trilogy is a series of films alone, with the only future promise that of the title.

What we’re saying is to deliver us that. Now War has capped the origin arc, it’s time to reveal the new end game: The Planet of Apes (from The Colonel’s warning in War) or Return to the Planet of the Apes (a nod to the 1970s animated series).

IT WOULD BE A REMAKE WHERE THE FOCUS IS ON “THE VILLAINS”

One of the prequel series’ (we’ll keep using that term because it’s simple) biggest successes was how it gradually flipped the focus from man to apes, with each film spending less time on the human-side on the story and a lot more embroiling itself in Caesar’s personal fight. This was highlighted in War where Woody Harrelson’s reasoning for preserving humanity was, while dark, instinctively relatable – he only appeared as an antagonist because we’d been sided with Caesar for so long.

It would be fascinating to have this taken through to completion and have the original story of a displaced astronaut discovering the destruction of their home told from the ape perspective. We in part got this in Escape from the Planet of the Apes, where three chimpanzees turned up in 1970s America, although even then we were primarily on the side of the arrivals. At this point in the franchise we’d be following the natives; instead of being a nefarious politician hiding a dark secret, Dr. Zaius would essentially be the main character.

But it wouldn’t be a refocused remake either. Whoever makes it could definitely have fun with parallels and references (you could even have Andy Serkis play Cornelius, a nod to Roddy McDowell’s dual role), but the way the prequels have advanced and mutated the themes of belief and equality would lead to something wholly different. The society presented needn’t be the one-set caveman village, which would push the skills of the performers and artists on the film, advancing the work done so far to make a new sort of sci-fi landscape. Definitely, with the Simian Flu in existence, it’s a harsher future for any returning humans – a crew isn’t all going to survive. Going back to Pierre Boulle’s original novel for some things would definitely also be an option, although its futuristic society is a step away from what audiences are used to and – spoilers – isn’t set on Earth.

ABOUT THE TWIST

Which brings us to another concern: surprise. What made Planet of the Apes such an ironclad classic was the final shocking reveal that we’ve been on Earth all along. It’s a truly majestic moment, with the Statue of Liberty slowly revealed as the hard-baked cynic Taylor breaks down upon discovering that his constant dismissives of humanity were far more true and close to home than he realized. It’s such an iconic moment Fox doesn’t even try to hide it – the moment adorns every box set and the prequel trilogy takes it as writ. This is what makes doing a remake such a tricky proposition. How do you recapture something so expected? That was the final nail in Tim Burton’s version, which threw out a needlessly convoluted shocker in a bid to be different.


But is this really a problem? Rise, Dawn and War have shown that you can make movies in this series that feed on the ideas raised in the 110 minutes before Lady Liberty turns up that don’t require big shockers. What a remake could instead play up is the dramatic irony of the oblivious astronaut being home, framing that moment from a superior vantage point. And if you do want a shocker, there is one right there in Boulle’s text. The original novel is told as a message in the bottle found by astronauts, who in the final bookend are revealed to be chimps who immediately dismiss the idea of an intelligent human. It may be on the corny side, but would be a pretty distressing final beat.

Although if we’re defending the idea of the remake, perhaps to most pertinent reasoning is something simpler. While Matt Reeves has said Bad Ape and the other colonies he alludes to is the clear future setup, across the full three movies the most explicit seeding was the missing spaceship, ripe for a future return; in Rise, there was a TV report of the launch of the Icarus space mission (the name of Heston’s ship), which was later revealed to have been lost. There is already a pre-existing plot point to allow this to happen, why not use it?

So, it’s evident there actually is worth in taking this route. The question then becomes “why next?” Why take such a leap forward all of a sudden?

THE FRACTURED NARRATIVE OF PLANET OF THE APES

Further to his comments about the remake, Reeves has talked about how he sees the future of the series being these epic, weighty chapters that will essentially make Planet of the Apes a modern day War and Peace. That’s bold, ambitious filmmaking (not dissimilar to how Ridley Scott is handling another Fox legacy series, turning Alien into Paradise Lost) that feels fresh and daring in a widely-cited creative drought. However, this tact may eventually begin to wear away at an underlying issue with the prequels.

As a narrative, the POTA prequels are definitely greater than the sum of their parts. Ignoring the thematic and filmmaking aspects, which are mostly excellent, it’s essentially a one-movie plot stretched over three. This is perhaps best seen in Dawn – a film that was originally set to be more like War – which spends the first half setting up a proper Ape-human conflict but balks in the third act to center on inter-species in-fighting. Is it still good? Yes. Is it frustrating that they’re prevaricating to make more movies? Double yes.

When you look at how the movies are threaded and the plots that occur, Planet of the Apes is more fractured and future-thinking than any of the shared universes that get lumbered with those rote criticisms. That’s not a full takedown because, as already stated, they hit so many other great heights; War especially does a sublime job of threading everything together (apes together strong). It’s simply a repeated choice that risks becoming more objectionable as times goes on. Do we really need Debate for the Planet of the Apes (where Caesar’s followers fight over who leads next), Expansion of the Planet of the Apes (where the united Caesar group go on a journey to find more apes), Conflict Within the Planet of the Apes (where the two groups finally fights), Legal Origins of the Planet of the Apes (where the law-giver starts making rules) and Domestic Bliss on the Planet of the Apes?

The other downside of continuing right where War left off is it could undercut the perfect ending to Caesar’s arc and with it Andy Serkis’ genre-busting work. Many will want things to pause for breath here and let the “end” sink in, but franchise demands simply won’t allow that. However, the freedoms of this particular series provide a way to craft that space it into the narrative; it’s definitely possible to make a new story powered by loss and legacy following on directly from the end of War, but a jump forward feels like a much more attractive, stronger idea. And while there’s certainly plenty of aspects of Ape culture to explore wherever you go in the timeline, the one that provides the most captivating experience and allows full exploration of all the ideas raised thus far is a far-future intelligent human returning home.

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More Planet of the Apes is happening, and as the series currently stands that’s a highly unobjectionable thing. Remaking the original film may at first seem like a cynical, desperate step, but it is, in fact, the ideal way to maximize the success so far and ensure that it advances in new and exciting ways rather than falling into dogma. Even without Matt Reeves, who is next set to start work on The Batman, the series is probably going to work out good. But we want it to be great – and a remake, for once, is the answer.

Source: screenrant.com