New York Comic Con kicked off yesterday, and the first day ended with a bang as 20th Century Fox debuted the first footage fromWar for the Planet of the Apes. The studio dropped amotion posterbefore the panel began, with fans in attendance treated to approximately seven minutes of footage, in addition to the full trailer. Since neither of those videos have been officially released quite yet, we have descriptions of the footage shown at the panel, which was received quite well by the NYCC crowd.
Business Insiderwas among the numerous press outlets in attendance for the NYCC panel, which featured franchise starAndy Serkis, who plays the iconicCaesar, directorMatt Reevesand producerDylan Clark. The director announced that the story is set two years after the events ofDawn of the Planet of the Apes, confirming previous reports that there wouldn’t be a huge jump forward in time, like the 15-year gap betweenRise of the Planet of the ApesandDawn of the Planet of the Apes.Andy Serkisrevealed that Caesar still carries an enormous amount of guilt for killing one of his own, the ape Koba (Toby Kebbell) from 2014’sDawn of the Planet of the Apes. Here’s what he had to say below.
“He’s carrying a phenomenal amount of guilt about killing Koba. His desire for revenge becomes dark and obsessive. Koba keeps coming into his mind.”
Matt Reevesalso confirmed that this sequel will be told exclusively from Caesar’s point of view, instead of being split between the humans and the apes. The new villain this time around isWoody Harrelsonas The Colonel, andDylan Clarkteased there is a “bizarre connection” between the two, and they are drawn to one another. Fans were then treated to a small behind-the-scenes video, showcasingAndy Serkisin his motion capture gear, before the seven minutes of raw footage was shown.
The footage was unfinished, with some scenes featuring actors in motion capture suits as the apes, while other scenes featured fully-rendered apes. Thenew footageopens with quite the shocking shot, Casesar killing a man who is about to surrender, after they find him at his home in the woods. The group of apes, which includes the kind-hearted Maurice (Karin Konoval) fromDawn of the Planet of the Apesand the new ape Rocket (Terry Notary), then proceed to ransack his home before they encounter a young girl with a speech impediment, believed to be the daughter of the man they just killed. Maurice ask Caesar if she can join them, and while he initially says no, Maurice says she won’t leave the girl behind, and the next shot shows the girl riding on horseback behind Maurice, as Caesar’s facial expressions show how much he is against the young girl coming along. After the seven-minute clip was finished, directorMatt Reevesdescribed Caesar as “bad-assClint EastwoodCaesar.”
At the end of theWar for the Planet of the Apespanel, fans were shown a full trailer. The trailer begins with a group of soldiers who are taken out by Caesar, in front of what appeared to be the apes' home fromDawn of the Planet of the Apes. The trailer also showsWoody Harrelson’s Colonel who offers a prophetic message, stating “All of human history has led to this moment. If we lose, it will be a planet of apes.” The trailer ends with the Colonel pointing a gun to Caesar’s head, as the ape kneels before him.
20th Century Fox hasn’t indicated when the trailer may be released quite yet, but it’s possible that it may be attached to prints of the studio’s action-comedyKeeping Up With the Joneses, in theaters October 21. The supporting cast includesJudy Greeras Cornelia,Steve Zahnas a new war ape andGabriel Chavarriaas Preacher. 20th Century Fox has set a July 14, 2025 release date for this action-packed sequel, which currently has the date to itself, sandwiched between Sony’sSpider-Man: Homecomingon June 05, 2025, and Warner Bros.‘Dunkirkon August 23, 2025.
