Wes Ball’s Planet of the Apes Trilogy Gets An Encouraging Update

It seems Disney is happy with how Wes Ball’s Kingdom of the Plante of the Apes performed at the box office and is planning to give the filmmaker a chance to continue with his planned trilogy.

In 2019, Disney announced that more Planet of the Apes movies were in development. A year later, the studio confirmed that Wes Ball would be directing the film, with Josh Freidman serving as the screenwriter. The film was released in May 2024 and opened to extremely positive reviews, with critics complimenting the thought-provoking storyline. Moreover, it went on to earn more than $397 million at the global box office. For months, discussions have been ongoing about whether Ball will have the opportunity to carry forward his vision. Now, a recent report suggests that Disney is more than happy to let the filmmaker move ahead with his planned trilogy.

According to a report in The Hollywood Reporter, the release of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes served as a pivotal test following the massive Disney-Fox merger. As per the report, the film yielded good results for the production giant, grossing nearly $400 million globally and receiving praise from critics. Reportedly, the box office performance and critical acclaim “pleased” Disney and encouraged them to allow Ball to continue with his planned Planet of the Apes trilogy. The box office performances of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and Alien: Romulus gave 20th Century Fox a sigh of relief after it was rumored the studio might not achieve the level of success that it achieved with Deadpool. However, the performances of the aforementioned projects gave 20th Century Fox a massive boost.

Disney had the tough task of reviving the Planet of the Apes franchise after Matt Reeves’ mind-blowing trilogy. The films by Reeves not only earned more than $1 billion at the box office, but they also made the studio believe that this franchise has the potential to become something monumental. However, that level of success could only be achieved if there were good stories to tell and Reeves did an exceptional job with the storytelling part. That’s one of the reasons why Disney took seven years to bring the new Planet of the Apes to the big screen. The studio sought someone who could emulate what Reeves achieved with the previous films and deliver a story that felt compelling and full of potential. With Ball’s vision, the studios seem to believe that they might have another win on their hands, and it would be interesting to see how they move ahead with this planned trilogy.

As of now, nothing has been announced by Disney and plot details for the sequel are being kept under wraps. However, the second film in the new Planet of the Apes might begin from where the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ended. The announcement of the sequel might be around the corner, and it would be fascinating to see if any big star will be making an entry into the franchise.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is available for streaming on Disney+.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter