- For freedom. For family. For the planet.
- Official Tagline
War for the Planet of the Apes is a 2017 science fiction war film directed by Matt Reeves and co-written by Reeves and Mark Bomback. The conclusion to the trilogy started by Rise of the Planet of the Apes, it depicts Caesar and his tribe's struggle against the forces of Colonel McCullough and Alpha-Omega, culminating in the final battle of the Human-Ape War.
Synopsis[]
Two years after the events of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Caesar and his apes have been at war against the humans. As the apes start suffering heavy losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts in order to face Colonel McCullough and the traitorous gorilla Red. This face-off will determine the fate of both species and Earth's future.
Plot[]
The war between humans and ape progress.
After the U.S. military was called to fight off an increasingly intelligent and dangerous clan of apes, the apes clan, led by the chimpanzee Caesar, are attacked in the woods by a rogue military battalion known as Alpha-Omega, led by a ruthless Colonel. Alpha-Omega also has in its service apes they call "Donkeys" who previously followed Koba, a treacherous bonobo who led a failed coup against Caesar. During the attack, Alpha-Omega militants are met by heavy ape resistance, and several soldiers, including the gorilla Red, are captured by the apes. Caesar arrives and orders the four soldiers to be released, with a message to the Colonel that he did not start the war, and that he desires peace between humans and apes. Caesar orders that Red is to be imprisoned for his crimes, but before he can be imprisoned, Red escapes, injuring an albino gorilla named Winter.
Soon after, Caesar's eldest son Blue Eyes and his lieutenant Rocket return from a journey to find a safe haven for the apes. They reported what they have found: an oasis across a vast desert devoid of settlement, making it the perfect home for the clan. Winter, still frightened from the soldiers' attack, suggested to leave immediately, but Caesar does not think they are prepared to leave so soon.
The death of Blue Eyes and Cornelia.
That night, a group of Alpha-Omega soldiers, led by the Colonel, infiltrates the apes' home behind a waterfall and the Colonel kills Blue Eyes and Caesar's wife, Cornelia. Winter cannot be found and Luca, a gorilla, believes that Winter has betrayed them out of fear.
Leaving his younger son, Cornelius, in the care of Blue Eyes' mate, Lake, Caesar departs to exact revenge on the Colonel for the death of his family. He is accompanied by Maurice, an orangutan and Caesar's adviser, Luca, and Rocket, while the other apes head for the desert. During their journey, the apes encounter a soldier living in an abandoned village and Caesar shoots him when he reaches for his rifle. Caesar, Maurice, Luca, and Rocket search the dead soldier's home. Maurice discovers the soldier's daughter who is apparently unable to speak. Maurice befriends the girl, giving her a small rag doll and insists that they take her with them.
Caesar's group meet Bad Ape in their travel.
Along the way, Caesar's party encounters Winter in an Alpha-Omega camp on the beach where he volunteered to become a "Donkey" in return for sparing his life. He tells Caesar's group that the Colonel has departed for a location referred to as the "border." Winter tries to call out to the Alpha-Omega soldiers to save him, but Caesar and the others held him down to keep him quiet, leading to Caesar inadvertently killing him. Caesar begins to worry that he is becoming like Koba by killing apes and seeking revenge. While following the soldiers to the border, they discover some soldiers shot and left for dead. Their examination of a dying soldier reveals that he, like the girl, can't speak. Later, the group meets Bad Ape, an evolved chimpanzee hermit who lived in the Sierra Zoo before the Simian Flu Pandemic. Bad Ape reveals that Alpha-Omega are encamped at the Border and hesitantly agrees to lead them there.
Caesar captured.
When the group arrives at the border, they see hundreds of apes held captive inside a former quarantine facility. While getting a closer look, Luca is killed protecting Caesar from an AO patrol, angering Caesar and causing him to proceed alone. Caesar discovers the rest of his ape clan has been captured, and are being forced to build a wall with no food or water; he is captured by Red. Later, the Colonel reveals to Caesar that the Simian Flu virus has mutated and now causes human carriers who survived the original strain to devolve, becoming mute and regressing to a primal state. Caesar deduces that the Colonel is barricading himself in the facility to fend off remnants of the U.S. Army from the North who are coming to execute him because he favors killing any infected humans, including his own son, to stop the spread of the virus and killed anyone who opposed his methods, including his superiors. Caesar is commended by the Colonel for his intelligence, and the Colonel explains that he is fighting a "holy war" for the survival of mankind.
While Caesar is tortured with starvation, the mute girl, whom Maurice names Nova, sneaks into the facility to give Caesar her rag doll given to her by Maurice, food, and water. To prevent her from being discovered, Rocket allows himself to be captured as a diversion. The next day, the Colonel comes to see if Caesar is still alive, discovers the doll, and asks both Caesar and Preacher how the doll got inside the cell. The Colonel decides to take the doll. Together Caesar and Rocket are able to work out a means of escape via an underground tunnel that leads out of the facility. Maurice and Bad Ape use the tunnel to rescue the apes, and Caesar orders the others to escape while he goes to confront the Colonel. As the facility comes under attack by the Northern Army, Caesar reaches the Colonel's office and grabs his gun. As Caesar is about to kill the Colonel, he realizes the Colonel cannot speak and spots Nova's rag doll on the ground, surmising he has fallen victim to the virus that he feared. As the Colonel pleads with him to pull the trigger through gestures, Caesar puts down his gun and leaves the Colonel to his fate, who then grabs the gun and kills himself.
During the battle between Alpha-Omega and the Northern Army, the escaping apes come under fire from Alpha-Omega. Caesar attempts to attack Alpha-Omega from behind, but is shot with a crossbow by Preacher, one of the Alpha-Omega militants he had previously set free. Red saves Caesar's life by killing Preacher with a grenade launcher, but is executed by an Alpha-Omega superior as a result. Caesar blows up the facility's fuel supplies, causing a cascading explosion, wiping out Alpha-Omega and allowing the Northern Army to win the battle. However, the explosion triggers an avalanche, burying the base and the Army. Caesar and the apes, with Nova, survive by climbing nearby trees.
Caesar dies while knowing the apes will live free.
The remaining apes and Nova resumed their journey across the desert, and finally reached the oasis. While the other apes joyously celebrate their new home, Maurice discovers Caesar's wound. Maurice then speaks, telling Caesar that Cornelius will know what his father believed in and did to protect the apes. Caesar slowly and silently succumbed to his wound, and Maurice mourned his passing watching over the other apes.
Cast and Crew[]
Primary Cast[]
Evolved Apes[]
- Andy Serkis as Caesar - A common chimpanzee, the king of the San Francisco Ape Colony, Cornelia's husband, and Blue Eyes and Cornelius' father.
- Steve Zahn as Bad Ape - A common chimpanzee who lived in a zoo; before the Simian Flu outbreak, and spent his days as a hermit; before joining the San Francisco Ape Colony.
- Karin Konoval as Maurice - An orangutan, Caesar's main adviser, the third-in-command of the Ape Army and a teacher.
- Terry Notary as Rocket - A common chimpanzee and the second-in-command of the Ape Army.
- Ty Olsson as Red - A gorilla and follower of the late Koba who defected to Colonel McCullough's forces.
- Michael Adamthwaite as Luca - A gorilla and and the fourth-in-command of the Ape Army.
- Toby Kebbell as Koba - A genocidal ape who previously waged war against the humans, and now appears in Caesar's hallucinations.
- Judy Greer as Cornelia - A female chimpanzee, the queen of the San Francisco Ape Colony, Caesar's wife, and Blue Eyes and Cornelius' mother.
- Sara Canning as Lake - A common chimpanzee, Blue Eyes' wife and Cornelius' sister-in-law/caretaker.
- Devyn Dalton as Cornelius - A common chimpanzee, the second Prince of the San Francisco Ape Colony, Caesar and Cornelia's youngest son, and Blue Eyes' younger brother.
- Aleks Paunovic as Winter - An albino gorilla and member of the Gorilla Guard.
- Alessandro Juliani as Spear - A common chimpanzee and a soldier of the Ape Army.
- Max Lloyd-Jones as Blue Eyes - A common chimpanzee, the prince of the San Francisco Ape Colony, Caesar and Cornelia's first son, and Cornelius, elder brother.
- Timothy Webber as Percy
- Lauro Chartraland as Look Out Ape
- Skye Notary as Ape Kid #1
- Willow Notary as Ape Kid #2
- Finn Notary as Ape Kid #3
- Phoenix Notary as Ape Kid #4
- Sadie Aperlo as Ape Kid #5
- Matilda Aperlo as Ape Kid #6
- Andrew Alexander Reeves as Ape Kid #7
Humans[]
- Woody Harrelson as J. Wesley McCullough - An iron-fisted Colonel obsessed with wiping out Caesar and his colony of apes to preserve his people's role as the dominant species.
- Amiah Miller as Nova - A bold and kind war orphan whom Maurice adopts as his daughter.
- Gabriel Chavarria as Preacher - A human crossbowman of Alpha-Omega.
- Shaun Omaid as Soldier Who Sees Ape
- Roger Cross as Captain
- Mercedes de la Zerda as Lang
- Doug Chapman as Alpha-Omega Deserter
- James Pizzinato as Captured Soldier
- Chad Rook as Boyle
- Dean Redman as Commanding Officer
- Steve Baran as Tanker Guard
- Sandy Robson as Gunner
- Levi Meaden as Soldier
- Billy Wickman as Gasping Soldier
- Albert Nicholas as Tower Guard #1
- Kyle Horton as Tower Guard #2
- Paul Luongo as Ukulele Playing Soldier
- Thomas Potter as Platoon Leader
- Matt Yanagiya as Executive Officer's Man
Uncredited Cast[]
- Unknown as Stone
- Emmanuel Amadeo Badal as Soldier
- Michael Germant as Campfire Soldier
- Kent R. Karemaker as Soldier
- Paul Larouche as Enemy Soldier
- Martin Lo Rimorin as Prison Soldier
- Tanner Scott as Soldier
- Rhys Williams as Alpha-Omega Soldier
- Sarah Ziolkowski as Soldier
- Chad Riley ... Stunts
Production Crew[]
- Director ... Matt Reeves
- Screenwriters ... Matt Reeves, Mark Bomback
- Producers ... Peter Chernin, Dylan Clark, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
More to come...
Locations[]
More to come...
Filming Locations[]
Richmond, BC, Canada
Setting & Continuity[]
The recap paragraphs at the opening scene of War stated that the events at the end of Rise had happened fifteen years ago. However, director Matt Reeves contradicted this by saying in an interview with Collider that War was set two years after Dawn, which would reduce that gap to twelve years.
- See Planet of the Apes - Chernin Entertainment for a complete exploration of the date setting for the Chernin Entertainment film trilogy and possible connections to other Planet of the Apes film continuities.
Notes[]
- This is the first iteration of the Planet of the Apes film franchise to have an albino ape.
- The Alpha-Omega symbol can be seen on Preacher's helmet, Red's right temple and on a U.S. flag in the last human camp, a reference to the Alpha-Omega Bomb from Beneath the Planet of the Apes and Battle for the Planet of the Apes.
- This is the last film to be released by 20th Century Fox before being acquired by Disney.
- This is the last film to be released by 20th Century Fox name.
Film Stills[]
Promotion[]
Trailers[]
TV Spots[]
Deleted Scenes[]
Posters[]
Websites[]
http://www.warfortheplanet.com
https://www.facebook.com/ApesMovies
https://twitter.com/ApesMovies/
https://www.instagram.com/ApesMovies/
External Links[]
War for the Planet of the Apes on Wikipedia- War for the Planet of the Apes on IMDb
- War for the Planet of the Apes at the Dnung/}}
- When Life gives you Lemmons - 'Simian Scrolls' #20 (2018)
