It looks like there’s more in the can for Monkey Planet, so here’s the latest on the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes age rating and UK release date. It’s the 4th film in the rebooted franchise, and it’s the first to take place in the far flung future.
However, you shouldn’t expect apes with super sophisticated technology – apart from the taser spears – as this continues from the civilization that Caesar built in War for the Planet of the Apes. You can find out more about the story, cast and runtime in the sections below, as well as watching the latest trailer for the film.
AdvertisementDon’t forget to follow us on Facebook to see more news and updates on age rating certificates for upcoming films, or visit the official Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ApesMovies.
Story
The plot for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes picks things up with the now dominant species a few generations after the war was won by Caesar. What is left of humanity has been reduced to a primitive existence on the very edges of existence.
The apes are ruled by a new leader, who has empire-building ambitions and a tyrannical approach to getting the job done. However, Noa, a young ape with his own vision for the future, embarks on a journey of discovery, which turns out to be far more challenging than he could ever imagine.
RELATED: Ghostbusters Frozen Empire age rating and release date latest
Along the way, he’s joined by a human girl called (Freya Allan), which is the same name as the comparable character in War for the Planet of the Apes. It looks set to create the ground work for a new trilogy of films, so it’s going to be interesting to see how things end in the film when the release date rolls around.
AdvertisementCast list
As this is a whole new trilogy, the cast list for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is completely new, so there’s no Andy Serkis this time around. In fact, a lot of the names are much lesser known than in the previous films, so it’s going to be interesting to see how well it lands.
- Owen Teague – Noa
- Freya Allan – Nova
- Lydia Peckham – Soona
- Travis Jeffery – Anaya
- Kevin Durand – Proximus Caesar
- Peter Macon – Raka (a wise orangutan and advisor to Noa)
- William H. Macy (unconfirmed role)
The film will be Freya Allan’s first big role since starring in The Witcher for Netflix alongside Henry Cavill. It’s also William H. Macy’s first big blockbuster in a long time, so we’re looking forward to seeing whether he’ll be cast as an ape or a human.
First impressions
The best word to describe our first impressions for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is tentative. The last film in the reboot franchise wasn’t as strong as the first two, and it looks like there are some story and thematic similarities.
You can read our War for the Planet of the Apes review to find out more, but hopefully the 4th film manages to elevate things well. The trailer (which you can see in the section below) looks decent enough with some beautiful shots, solid CGI and dramatic notes, but it could easily go either way.
RELATED: What will be the next Nintendo movie?
A lot is riding on the delivery for the story, which is what went askew in the last film, so hopefully Kingdom can reshape things well. If it does then this will set it up for another trilogy and deliver the kind of characters and narrative that made the first two films so much better.
AdvertisementThat means that Owen Teague is going to need to shine pretty brightly in the leading role just for things to start well. However, the biggest question mark for us is over the villain for the film, Proximus Caesar, played by kevin Durand. He only appears briefly in the trailer, but it’s one of the weakest moments.
It felt a bit too much like it had been lifted from the Robert Downey Jr. adaptation of Dolittle. The rest of his lines, delivery and part in the plot are going to need to be far more impressive to save Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes from a tough time for reviews and at the box office.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes age rating
The official UK age rating Kingdom of the Apes won’t be announced by the BBFC until we get a lot closer to the release date. However, there’s a lot to go on so far with three recent movies and the rating for the trailer and it’s a similar case for the US certification.
Firstly, all of the previous films in the Planet of the Apes reboot franchise have been given and age rating of 12 by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). If that isn’t enough to go on, it has also rated the trailer below with a 12A certificate, so it seems likely that the film will follow with a similar classification in the UK.
In terms of the US age rating, the equivalent to the UK’s 12 certificate is PG-13, and that’s been the case for all three of the previous movies. Looking at the trailer and the BBFC rating it has been given that should be the case again for the fourth film. The US certificate is usually awarded earlier than in the UK, so that will be the next indicator for the final age rating.
Release date
The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes release date is officially set for May 24th, 2024, as things stand in the US. This should mean that it’ll be coming out in cinemas in the UK on the same date, however, we sometimes get film released on Wednesday in the UK, so that would make it May 22nd if the release schedule stays as it is.
AdvertisementHowever, there is a little confusion over the date with Wikipedia listing it as being May 10th, but without confirmation on the 20th Century Fox website, which still has it coming out on the 24th. There are a few other big films out in May, so there’s definitely scope for the release date to be changed, so we’ll keep you updated.
If it does land around May 24th then is should go on to be available for early access digital download around a month later in the US and a little after that in the UK. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes should then follow with a full home media release on DVD, Blu-ray and digital around August 2024 in the US and possibly as late as September in the UK.
Runtime
As with the age rating, the official runtime for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will be announced a little closer to the release date. However, looking at the three previous films, they were 1 hour 41 minutes, 2 hours and 10 minutes and 2 hours and 14 minutes.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a bit like the testing ground for the reboot franchise, which is probably why it was so much shorter. A good estimate for Kingdom is probably a little over 2 hours, which ties in with the journey story, which will need to set things up for a possible second trilogy.
Trailer
We’ve had just the teaser trailer below for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, but we’re bound to get more in the run up to the release date in May. Most of it lands pretty well, but as mentioned above, Proximus Caesar is a bit of a wildcard with his “good day” chat chipping away at the dramatic edge.
Owen Teague seems like a strong choice for the voice of Noa, but we don’t get to hear Freya Allen talking as Nova. It’ll be surprising if she doesn’t learn to speak during the course of the film, so she could end up being way more important than her part in the trailer implies.
