An exec at 20th Century Studios has confirmed that Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is officially getting a sequel. Fans of the Apes series were unsure if more stories would be told in the franchise after this summer’s hit blockbuster as no announcements on the future were immediately made by the studio. Speaking in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Steve Asbell, President of the 20th Century division at Disney, confirmed that a follow-up is on the way, and even revealed a release window for the film.
When asked by the outlet what 20th Century’s slate would look like in the future in terms of franchises vs original films, Asbell replied that it would be a 50/50 split. He went on to note that getting the big 20th Century franchises back off the ground under the Disney umbrella was their main priority and thanks to the success of Avatar: The Way of Water, Prey, Alien: Romulus, and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, they’ve cracked the formula. He continued:
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“And so that idea is to be able to say, ‘Okay, we know when the Avatar movies are coming. We know now about Predator. There’ll be another Apes in ‘27, let’s just say.’ So knowing where we can plan those franchises, it helps us look to see and ask what kinds of original movies in terms of genre do we want to test the marketplace with?
It would appear that Asbell is speaking somewhat hypothetically in terms of the future of the Apes franchise, but considering the we already know when the next movies in the Avatar and Predator franchise will hit (Avatar: Fire and Ash is set for December 18, 2025 while Predator: Badlands arrives November 7, 2025) it’s likely that Asbell is speaking toward what they know to be the truth about a sequel to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and the time frame in which it may arrive.
What would a sequel to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes be?
At the end of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the film clearly set up a roadmap for where the series would go next. Not only did Owen Teague’s Noa become the leader of The Eagle Clan and vanquish Proximus Caesar (or did he) but he has a new understanding of Caesar’s teaching and the harmony of apes working together. There’s also the Mae (Freya Allan) plot line, which revealed that bunkers full of healthy humans are still alive and out in the world, and they’re all able to communicate thanks to turning on some of the satellites orbiting Earth.
Finally, it’s how those two could collide that is left up in the air as both Noa and Mae end their final scene together with tension, unsure if Caesar’s wish that man and ape could live alongside each other will actually be achievable. Noa outright says it himself while Mae is shown holding a pistol behind her back should their conversation turn confrontational. It doesn’t, but what’s clear is that in the not-too-distant-future…war may be brewing again.
Was Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes a success?
In terms of box office, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was a clear success for the studio, bringing in just over $397 million at the global box office. Though it came in at a lower position than the three previous modern Planet of the Apes movies, some of that is to be expected with regard to movie going over the past few years. By comparison however, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes did outgross 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes at the domestic box office by $25 million, a sign that US audiences really liked the film. Currently, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes stands as the #10 highest grossing movie of the year.
Should a sequel to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes happen in the timeline mentioned above, arriving just three years after the last film in the series, it would put the franchise back on the timeline that it had been working under previously. From Rise to Dawn to War, each successive film in the series premiered three years after the last, with a seven year gap sitting between War and Kingdom.