Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Sequel Antagonist Identity Teased

Source: Cinema Blend

Will Caesar encounter a familiar enemy or a new adversary as a war with humanity beckons?
Director Matt Reeves has this week hinted at the identity of the antagonist of his upcoming follow-up to 20th Century Fox's beloved fantasy movie Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. The much-anticipated sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes was released back in July to immense critical acclaim and a generally commendable commercial reception, yet plans for a third instalment in the rebooted franchise of CGI-powered blockbusters have been afoot for months now, hence why Reeves has been able to provide details regarding its narrative so early on in the production process.

Before we go any further, though, it's probably worth us flagging up the fact that from here on out, there'll be SPOILERS aplenty for anyone who hasn't seen Dawn yet. In other words, don't go blaming us if any of the following information comes as an undesired shock to the system, okay? Fantastic. Anyone who did catch Dawn in all its glory two months back will no doubt recall that our last full glimpse of Caesar came as he comforted his reunited family and community in the aftermath of his momentous battle with the human colony and the deranged ape warlord Koba, the latter of whom was killed in a computer-animated confrontation for the ages...or so we thought.

Now this is where things become particularly intriguing. Speaking to Mtime, Reeves provided the following details regarding who could go up against everyone's favourite primate protagonist in two years' time: "I thought that Toby Kebbell gave such an incredible performance [as Koba]. And I thought he was so powerful and I thought God you don't find a villain who has got that great a story. [...] And I thought God, he's amazing, let's leave open the possibility, let's create the door of a possibility if we find a story that becomes worth telling that we can go down that path again because I thought the vein was so rich." The "door of a possibility" in question? Why, none other than the subtly-placed post-credits tag of sorts which bookended Dawn and appeared to comprise of the sounds of an ape-like creature trapped in rubble which was grunting, attempting to escape and therefore unmistakeably alive. Could it have been Koba? Certainly, that's what Reeves seems to be implying here and so long as he and the third film's screenwriters can envision a meaningful new character arc for this inherently "tragic" construct, then we'll be thrilled to see it progress on the big-screen.

20th Century Fox's next Planet of the Apes motion picture will clamber into cinemas worldwide on July 29th, 2016.