Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Ending Explained: Will The Primate Saga Continue Later?
The movie Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is now available in theaters, so thousands of people worldwide have been able to enjoy this adventure on the big screen. Thus, perhaps many of them were left with some doubts when reaching the outcome of the feature film. If this is your case… don’t worry! In the following lines, I present the film’s ending (ending explained). It is worth pointing out that, throughout 145 minutes of footage, the film brings us closer to Noa, a young ape who lives several generations after the reign of Caesar. After a first trilogy that convinced us of the possibilities of the new franchise, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes marks the return of the primate saga. Wes Ball (The Maze Runner) replaces Matt Reeves (The Batman), responsible for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes, as director.
In this context, apes are the dominant species, and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows, while a new, authoritarian ape leader builds his empire. Then, our protagonist embarks on a harrowing journey that leads him to question everything he knows about the past and make decisions that will define the future of apes and humans alike. Before continuing, watch the trailer for “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”: With César (Andy Serkis) definitely out of the picture, it is now Owen Teague (It) who plays Noa, the new protagonist of the story, through motion capture. Joining him are Freya Allan (The Witcher) as a young human girl named Nova by the apes, and Kevin Durand (Swamp Thing) as the would-be dictator Proximus Caesar. Set centuries after Caesar’s last adventure, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes clarifies the situation on Earth after the first installments and also opens up new plot lines. Here we explain them to you, warning that the review contains SPOILERS.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes: Summary Recap
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes begins by showing us the funeral of Caesar, who in the previous episode (released in 2017) had managed to save his clan, but not the future he dreamed of, in which apes and humans would rebuild the world together. 300 years pass, and we meet the young chimpanzee Noa (Owen Teague), who together with the rest of his tribe, specialized in breeding and coexisting with golden eagles, lives peacefully and self-sufficiently. They are completely unaware of the terrible danger that is about to be unleashed against them. The village is attacked by warrior monkeys who respond to the will of Proximus (Kevin Durand), a Bili Monkey who has settled near the coast and who since then subdued with his army all the monkeys who cross his path, to use them as slaves in his Kingdom.
The young primate, however, does not give up and sets off in search of his tribe, who have been deported in chains. On his way, however, he will first find the wise orangutan Raka (Peter Macon) and above all the young human Mae (Freya Allan), who, unlike many of her peers, has not lost the use of words or her intellect. But that young girl knows much more than she wants to say, and great changes will come from that meeting. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is directed by Wes Ball (the one from the Maze Runner saga) and is written by Josh Friedman, who continues his path of distancing himself from the original saga of the 70s. However, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes does not for this reason renounce references, both from the first films of the franchise and from many other cornerstones of the seventh art of the past.
The references to Terminator, Conan the Barbarian, as well as the more modern post-apocalyptic genre are very clear. The final result is a much more intimate film than the previous ones, which has its cornerstones in the relationship between man and nature, in the analysis of the concept of leadership and social coexistence. Amazing in terms of special effects thanks to Wētā FX and the new Volume technology, it is a great visual spectacle, even if sometimes perhaps it leaves a little to be desired with regards to certain aspects of world-building, as well as for the second part, less original and cohesive than the first. But even so, this is an above-average blockbuster, full of ideas and references that have nothing to do with our present.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Ending Explained: Will the Primate Saga Continue Later?
After a long and arduous journey, during which they have lost their friend the orangutan Raka (Peter Macon), Noa and Nova arrive at the territory of Proximus Caesar, the ape tyrant who has captured the former’s tribe. There they discover an ape civilization that resides in a ship graveyard, and that seems determined to open an enigmatic vault. Through conversations with Proximus and Trevathan, the dictator’s human henchman, we discover that Noa’s real name is Mae and that she belongs to a civilization that may have survived the viral apocalypse responsible for making apes intelligent and reducing humanity. to the feral state. Despite feeling used by the young woman, Noa decides that Proximus’ aspirations are even worse for the apes. So, he enters with her and her friends Anaya (Travis Jeffery) and Soona (Lydia Peckham) into what turns out to be a silo full of weapons. And, while the apes are terrified by what they find inside, the young human girl is only interested in an enigmatic artifact…
Just when the quartet seems to have achieved victory, Proximus demonstrates his cunning by waiting for them with his troops at the exit of the silo. As the dictator reveals, his attempts to open the arsenal respond both to the ambition of consolidating his new kingdom through human technology and to keep possible survivors of our species at bay. After having shot the ape that was holding Soona captive, Mae betrays her new friends by detonating the dikes that separated Proximus’ domain from the sea, causing a flood that engulfs the complex. Although his enemies make it difficult, Noa and his tribe use the silo corridors to reach the top of the cliff, thus avoiding drowning. However, Proximus also manages to reach safety and announces his intention to kill Noa after giving her a tremendous beating.
However, the chimpanzee responds by singing the ritual song of his tribe, to which his companions join, and those domesticated eagles that we have seen during the film react by attacking the bonobo and causing it to fall into the void. We meet Noa and her people again after an ellipsis: the tribe has returned to their territory and is engaged in rebuilding their village when Noa receives an unexpected visit from Mae. Although the young human woman carries a hidden weapon, which implies the intention of killing her former adventure companion, the farewell is peaceful, and she even takes a gift: the symbol of Caesar that, in turn, Noa received from Raka. Thus, as Noa and Soona leave the eagles’ territory to settle elsewhere, we discover Mae’s true purpose. The device that he took from the silo serves to put into operation a satellite communication network, which allows human settlements to contact each other. Will this be the beginning of a new war between the apes and our species?
What Does the End of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Mean?
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes reveals that Mae held a gun behind her back during her dialogue with Noa, suggesting that – despite everything they went through – she still has a certain level of distrust or disdain for the apes. This conversation places both of them as future enemies, although it seems that Noa still hopes to see apes and humans living together in peace. Either way, she heads to her base of operations, where an entire community of intelligent humans lives. There, the young woman hands over the key that allows her group to reactivate the satellites and contact other people around the world. They have the chance to make a plan for the future!
Could it be that a new war between humans and apes is in the works? Well, it seems that we will find out in the following films of the franchise. Because, if you didn’t know, this film marks the beginning of a new trilogy. It should be noted that the final credits of the film leave us with a detail to consider: the noise of an orangutan is heard, which is why many viewers speculate that Raka could be alive. And you, do you think this can be possible?
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes: Learning by Making the Same Mistakes Again
During the adventure at the center of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, we join the very personal journey of Noa, a young ape who has lost his clan, erased by the hunger for knowledge and power of Proximus, a primate who brought together many his peers under his dominion with the force and manipulation of the message left years earlier by Caesar. Self-proclaimed King and supporter of a kingdom that would like to forever imprint the power of his race on a ruined planet, the latter’s ultimate goal is to open a gigantic military bunker in which humans are rumored to have left some of the most powerful ever created by them. Furthermore, when our young protagonist begins his journey, he also comes across a human who is different from all the other specimens on the planet. Mae (Freya Allan) is intelligent and can speak and understand the current situation of her species.
Not only that, once captured together with Noa she turns out to have a very specific purpose: that of blocking any attempt by Proximus to obtain the offensive power kept inside the aforementioned bunker. So, in the last part of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, we see her organizing an escape and destruction plan with the male protagonist of the story; together they will have to open the indestructible door concerned and, take advantage of the explosion of the sea wall immediately near the bunker, escape and at the same time destroy everything. Once we enter through a hidden entrance on a cliff, we see Mae take some sort of card from one of the servers abandoned there for some time. When our men manage to open the entrance to the bunker, however, they are suddenly overwhelmed by Proximus and his men who ambush them. In a stalemate, the human will be forced to take matters into her own hands by blowing up the dam and potentially dooming everyone present.
The chaos generated by the water will lead to the final clashes and the definitive defeat of Proximus himself in favor of a Noa who uses his origins to gain the upper hand, bringing his clan back home. In the very last minutes of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, we find Noa and Mae in a final confrontation. She is more cautious because of what she put her friend and loved ones through, while he turns out to be extremely emotional and projected towards a speech in which he highlights the lessons received from this experience. His maturation continues. After the confrontation between them, we finally discover the real origins and motivations of Mae’s journey, undoubtedly the most mysterious and silent character of the entire feature film.
After greeting the monkey, we see it reaching a gigantic human outpost where many of its peers have remained immune to the virus raging in the world, focused on keeping the memory of their past greatness alive through technology and specific objects. The girl’s goal was to deliver the card found in the bunker to these people, which we later see used to power a system of giant satellite dishes to try to contact other similar life forms on the planet. Mae’s entire secret mission appears to have turned out to be a success, as the humans hiding there almost immediately receive a response from another hypothetical outpost. A sequence of this kind can only refer to a sequel to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, in which perhaps we will see a sort of desperate human attempt to put back together what they have lost over the years and a direct reference to what it will perhaps be a new war.
