Summary
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes sets the stage for a new trilogy, leaving behind weird classic storylines.
- The modern series likely won’t include mutants with psychic powers or ape-themed puns like the originals.
- Avoiding complex surgeries and Earth destruction, the modern movies aim for a grounded, realistic tone.
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Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has finally brought the modern Planet of the Apes movie series back, but these 10 storylines from the classic Planet of the Apes films are far too weird for the modern movies. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes brought things one step closer to the original movie through its time jump and a few other changes, but it still maintains the grounded tone of the modern trilogy. Because of this, it will be really difficult to integrate some elements from the classic Planet of the Apes movies, such as these 10 storylines.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is finally here, with the highly anticipated continuation of the modern Planet of the Apes movie series now released. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes‘ timeline is set around 300 years after the death of Caesar, with it moving on to a new cast of characters. This time, an ape named Noa journeys to take down an ape tribe that attacked his village, with him befriending a human named Mae along the way. This starts a new Planet of the Apes trilogy, but these 10 storylines probably won’t be in the sequels.
10 An Underground Society Of Mutants
Beneath the Planet of the Apes
The original sequel, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, immediately makes the franchise even stranger than it already was by introducing an underground society of mutants. These antagonistic descendants of the original humans have been mutated by the leftover radiation from a nuclear war, with them worshipping the nukes in their underground civilization before they are discovered by the apes.
While the modern Planet of the Apes series does feature evolved apes, having mutated human monsters is a step too far into the unrealistic for the new movies. In fact, a society of underground humans is revealed to exist in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, although they seem to be fairly normal. This makes it even more unlikely for the mutants to appear in future movies, further confirming that this storyline won’t appear.
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9 Humans With Psychic Powers
Beneath the Planet of the Apes
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Another weird aspect of Beneath the Planet of the Apes involves the abilities of these underground humans. The mutations didn’t just affect their appearance, as it actually gave them psychic powers. Even if the modern Planet of the Apes movies didn’t feature the mutants, it is entirely possible that the normal humans could have developed psychic powers, giving them an extra hand in their fight against the apes.
However, this addition seems much too weird as well, as it moves further away from the scientific base of the modern Planet of the Apes movies. The ending of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes shows that the underground humans have been reliant on technology for survival, meaning that the humans in the modern trilogy may be more reliant on mechanical weaponry than their psychic abilities.
8 The Ape Lincoln Memorial
Planet of the Apes (2001)
Tim Burton’s 2001 Planet of the Apes remake contains one of the strangest and most iconic visuals from the Planet of the Apes franchise, with that being a version of the Lincoln Memorial that has been altered to look like an ape. This is due to some time travel shenanigans that occur at the end of the film, with Mark Wahlberg’s character traveling back to his original point in the timeline and discovering this disastrous change.
Although it is hypothetically possible that time travel could be introduced in the modern Planet of the Apes movies, it is incredibly unlikely that the ape Lincoln Memorial will appear. After all, it is doubtful that the modern movies would want to associate with the generally disliked 2001 remake. On top of that, the modern Planet of the Apes movies haven’t even recreated the iconic Statue of Liberty scene, meaning that they definitely won’t do the Lincoln Memorial twist yet.
7 The Constant Ape Puns
Planet of the Apes
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Despite the original Planet of the Apes movie being a tragic sci-fi film that is full of social commentary, one strange element appears in almost every scene: ape puns. This ape-themed jokes appear in almost every scene of the film, with characters making references to sayings about apes, and many background details paying homage to iconic ape elements in human culture.
While the ape puns do add to the campy tone of the 1968 original, the modern Planet of the Apes movies are far more serious, meaning that this element wouldn’t work in the current series. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes does have moments of levity, but these anachronistic ape jokes just wouldn’t fit into the world and tone of the modern series, meaning that they should be avoided in future Planet of the Apes sequels.
6 Apes Lobotomizing Humans
Planet of the Apes
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One of the scariest moments in the original Planet of the Apes is when astronaut George Taylor realizes that one of his crew members has been lobotomized by the apes, with this surgery making him similar to the other feral humans. This gives Taylor the idea that the apes may want to pull off something similar to him, raising the stakes of Planet of the Apes even further.
While the apes in the modern Planet of the Apes movies are smart, they aren’t nearly smart enough to be pulling off complex brain surgery. The modern apes are far more animalistic than the apes seen in the original Planet of the Apes series, and having the apes perform complex surgeries on the brains of humans would push the audience’s suspension of disbelief one step too far.
5 Caesar Being A Time-Travelling Ape Messiah
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
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Caesar is the iconic protagonist of the first modern Planet of the Apes trilogy, but many fans who haven’t seen the original series don’t know that Caesar was actually a character in the final few films. Escape from the Planet of the Apes sees Cornelius and Zira travel back in time and give birth to an ape named Milo, leaving him in the past. Milo eventually changes his name to Caesar and leads an ape uprising, in a similar fashion to Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
Due to the similarities between Caesar’s roles in both series, it is plausible that the modern Planet of the Apes movies could reveal that Bright Eyes was the child of two time-traveling apes. However, this would be kind of ridiculous and would only serve to recreate the story of the original series, with it being too weird and unnecessary for the modern movies.
4 General Thade’s Villain Arc
Planet of the Apes (2001)
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General Thade is the main villain in Tim Burton’s 2001 Planet of the Apes movie, with him seemingly being the most dangerous villain in the franchise. By the end of the movie, General Thade travels back to the past and completely takes over Earth, with many Earth monuments and locations changing to reflect ape-themed variants.
While there are already some evil apes in the modern Planet of the Apes movies, General Thade is a step too far. Thade is too advanced and too comically evil to work in the modern series, with him being a cartoonish villain rather than one that can be used for social commentary. While Thade’s story set up a sequel to Tim Burton’s controversial 2001’s Planet of the Apes remake, this story doesn’t need to be told in the modern movies.
3 Blowing Up Earth
Beneath the Planet of the Apes
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The end of Beneath the Planet of the Apes features another wild twist, as George Taylor actually detonates a bomb that destroys the entirety of Earth. While blowing up Earth is a cool idea, it is definitely one of the weirdest parts of the original Planet of the Apes movies, and that’s considering the comedy and camp of those films.
Because of this, destroying Earth is far too odd for the modern Planet of the Apes movies, as it would require all kinds of elements that aren’t yet in place. The absence of the nuclear war story would make the detonation of Earth make even less sense, as the modern Planet of the Apes movies used a different explanation for the apocalypse. On top of that, the original movies only got out of this conclusion through an element that is also too weird for the modern movies.
2 Time Traveling Back To Modern-Day Earth
Escape from the Planet of the Apes
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After the destruction of Earth in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, there was only one way that the original series could continue: time travel. Thus, a few of the main characters are sent back in time through the time rift in space, leading to the events of the rest of the series. Time travel is incredibly important to the original movies, but it simply wouldn’t work in the modern Planet of the Apes movies.
Although Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes hinted at space travel throughout, it is so far away from introducing time travel that it would be too strange to force it in now. Combining too many sci-fi elements has the potential to overwhelm a franchise, and combining the current stories with time travel may have this effect on the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes sequels.
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1 Evolved Apes From The Future Becoming Celebrities
Escape from the Planet of the Apes
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After traveling back in time, Zira and Cornelius’ stories become even stranger, as the evolved apes make their presence known on the Earth of the 1970s. This leads to the two apes becoming well-known celebrities, with them using their fame and platform to warn of the ape apocalypse that is to come.
In reality, the reaction to time-traveling evolved apes would be far different than what is shown in Escape from the Planet of the Apes, meaning that this storyline can’t be shown in the modern series. Even if time travel is introduced, characters like Noa shouldn’t be appearing on television programs. On top of that, it would break the timeline of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, with this story doing far more bad than good for the modern Planet of the Apes movies.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
PG-13
Action
Sci-Fi
Set several years after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the next installment in the Apes saga. Ape clans have taken up residence in the oasis that Caesar sought to colonize, but humans have reverted to their animalistic nature in their absence. Now battling between enslavement and freedom, outliers in the Ape clans will take sides in a newly burgeoning society.
Director Wes Ball Release Date May 10, 2024 Studio(s) 20th Century , Chernin Entertainment , Oddball Entertainment , Shinbone Productions Distributor(s) 20th Century Writers Patrick Aison , Josh Friedman , Rick Jaffa , Amanda Silver Cast Kevin Durand , Freya Allan , Peter Macon , Owen Teague , Eka Darville , Sara Wiseman , Neil Sandilands Franchise(s) Planet of the Apes Sequel(s) Planet of the Apes , Beneath the Planet of the Apes , Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) , Conquest of the Planet of the Apes , Battle for the Planet of the Apes prequel(s) Rise of the Planet of the Apes , dawn of the Planet of the apes movie , War for the Planet of the Apes
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