Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the upcoming fourth entry in the Planet of the Apes reboot series, and it has already teased why the Simian Flu is so important. The film will follow up the events of Matt Reeves' Planet of the Apes trilogy, exploring the events that occur after War for the Planet of the Apes. Although the film will focus on different characters, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has already proven that it will innovate on the trilogy's biggest plot point, the Simian Flu.

The Simian Flu first appeared in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, where a potential cure for Alzheimer's disease called ALZ-112 is created. When tested on primates, the animals that received ALZ-112 became much smarter, stronger, and got a green tint in their eyes. While ALZ-112 causes Planet of the Apes' Caesar to talk, the next iteration of the formula, ALZ-113, has an incredibly negative effect on humans. ALZ-113 causes a virus known as Simian Flu in humans, with symptoms being bloody noses, vomiting, and eventual death. The contagious disease wiped out 99% of the human population, and it may come back in the next film.

The Simian Flu Could Explain Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Ape's Feral Humans


Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is set to take place years after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes, which itself was set a long time after the collapse of humanity. In the initial plot synopsis for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the film describes the few remaining clusters of humans as having "been reduced to a feral-like existence" (via The Holllywood Reporter). The humans that were around in the War for the Planet of the Apes movie were fairly normal, meaning that something had to happen to the humans to revert them to primal creatures.

The end of War for the Planet of the Apes reveals that the Simian Flu has mutated inside the body of a little girl, with the virus being able to infect previously immune humans. Patient zero of this virus is Colonel McCullough, with him becoming infected after touching the little girl's doll. The mutated Simian Flu causes the Colonel to lose his ability to speak, with him choosing to end his own life before the symptoms get worse. Colonel McCullough specifically speculated that the new strain could cause humans to become animalistic, meaning that it has probably spread to these "feral" humans in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.

The Feral Humans Fixes A Big Planet Of The Apes Problem


Planet of the Apes' infected humans will most likely be very different in the upcoming sequel than their predecessors, possibly fixing one of the franchise's biggest criticisms. The series is often lambasted for giving too much screen time to the humans, who are far less interesting than characters like Caesar. This is especially true for Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which gives tons of focus to James Franco's character.

However, it seems like there will be virtually no uninfected humans in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Since the humans can't talk, they probably won't get much character development or screen time at all. This could be a huge positive for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, finally fixing the franchise's human problem.