Matt Reeves on Caesar in Planet of the Apes 3: "Sort of like an ape Moses"

Matt Reeves on Caesar in Planet of the Apes 3: “Sort of like an ape Moses”

November 11th 2014, 10:25am

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

While promoting the upcoming Blu-ray and DVD release of DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, director Matt Reeves talked a little about what Andy Serkis' Caesar will be up to in PLANET OF THE APES 3. Reeves, in a conversation with Coming Soon, says Caesar will become an ape legend in the next movie.

The first one is sort of how [Caesar] goes from humble beginnings to becoming a revolutionary. In 'Dawn,' he really rose to occasion of becoming a leader in really challenging and difficult times. The notion of what we're after with the third is to sort of continue that trajectory and see how he becomes a seminal figure in ape history. He almost becomes sort of like an ape Moses. A mythic status… We're trying to play out those themes and continue to sort of explore it in this universe. Exploring human nature under the guise of apes.

Matt Reeves goes on to say the film will also continue Andy Serkis' "outsider" take on Caesar.

A thing I always found very moving was the concept of a character that was [an outsider]. Andy [Serkis] told me the way he played him and the thing that really moved me was that [Caesar] was really all about being an outsider. [He] said that [he] felt [he] was human until the one day it was made clear that that [he isn't]. [He] said it felt like heartbreak. Like, 'Oh, I'm not one of them!' Then he's thrown in with the apes, but he's not one of them either. He's an outsider to both. That was very moving to me because he's an outsider to both but connected to both. He is the unique character in this story to be able to connect between the human and the ape world.

Besides doing very well at the box office, both RISE OF and DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES also received great reviews, and with Matt Reeves returning for PLANET OF THE APES 3 (which obviously isn't the official title), I'm definitely excited for some more ape action.

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 2 (pre-order through Amazon here), and PLANET OF THE APES 3 is set to open on July 29, 2016.