Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes: everything you need to know including cast, story, release date and ticket booking

Prepare to go ape at Cineworld this summer with the release of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. It's the latest chapter in the classic, long-running sci-fi franchise, promising to break more boundaries with its breathtaking performance-capture CGI and its dramatic story exploring the ongoing tension between human and ape.

Here's what you need to know about the film.

What is the story of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes?

Several generations after the reign of the intelligent, genetically engineered ape Caesar, who helped lead his clan of apes to freedom, a new adventure begins. Apes are now the dominant species and live harmoniously together while humans have been reduced to living in the shadows.

As a new tyrannical ape leader named Proximus Caesar builds his empire, one young ape called Noa undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.

Where does Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes sit in the Planet of the Apes timeline?

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes follows the recent Apes trilogy comprising Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017).

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes moves us one step closer to the arresting and horrific dystopian vision of the original Planet of the Apes movie released in 1968. In that film, Charlton Heston's astronaut Taylor went through a wormhole to arrive on a mysterious planet where humans were ruled over and enslaved by intelligent, talking simians.

The trailer for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes alludes to this species inversion as we see the increasingly primitive humans being imperilled and threatened by their ape counterparts.

Who stars in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes?

Owen Teague (IT) stars as the new hero chimpanzee Noa and Kevin Durand (soon to be seen in the gory vampire movie Abigail) plays the fierce, war-mongering bonobo Proximus Caesar. Freya Allen (The Witcher) portrays Mae, a young human who accompanies Noa on his journey, Peter Macon (The Orville) plays Noa's orangutan ally Raka and William H, Macy (Fargo) plays Trevathan, a human within Proximus Caesar's clan.

Is Andy Serkis appearing in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes?

Unlikely given the chronology of the series. Unless Andy Serkis' character Caesar appears in some sort of flashback sequence then we can expect the series to move forward with wholly new characters.

Who directs Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes?

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is directed by Wes Ball, best known for directing the Maze Runner movies. The young adult dystopian thrillers, based on the books of the same name, focused on a group of teens trapped in a deadly booby-trapped maze. When they escaped the kids discovered they were guinea pigs at the mercy of a devastated planet overrun by infected humans.

The Maze Runner series can be seen as a dry run for Ball's work on Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes given it also hybridizes intense action sequences with CG effects and a teeming cast. In an interview with Empire, Ball said he pitched the movie to 20th Century Studios as “Apocalypto with apes”, referring to the savagely violent and intense Mel Gibson Mayan epic.

We shouldn't expect anything quite that violent in Ball's new movie. Nevertheless, it's likely to be a tonal touchstone. The film is written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver who contributed to the scripts for each of the three previous Apes movies, each of which were critically acclaimed blockbuster hits, so it looks to be in good hands.

Hear from Wes in the following video as he takes us behind the scenes.