After Dawn for the Planet of the Apes speculation was rampant that ape dictator Koba had somehow survived his fight with Caesar. Nope, he’s dead. “He’s dead,” War for the Planet of the Apes producer Dylan Clark said.
But that’s not the end of Koba. He will return in War for the Planet of the Apes to haunt Caesar’s dreams. War for the Planet of the Apes opens two years into the war between the apes and humans. Koba is worn down by the violence, becoming a harder, more cynical leader.
“He’s carrying a phenomenal amount of guilt for killing Koba,” Serkis says. “It’s darker, more nuanced, very reflective of the human condition. "It sounds like a painful new direction for the character.
“The mythic journey is Caesar comes to understand exactly why Koba felt as he did,” Clark said.
The War panel — which included Clark, director Matt Reeves and Caesar actor Andy Serkis — described Caesar’s internal struggle and the guilt he still bears over violating that crucial Ape Law: “Ape Not Kill Ape.”
And while we didn’t see any footage including Koba, it sounds like Koba will appear in flashbacks and tormenting visions. “He is alive, he’s present in Caesar’s mind,” Clark said.
Between the quiet seven-minute scene and the action-packed, war-torn teaser trailer, it became apparent that War for the Planet of the Apes is attempting to walk a delicate line between widescreen spectacle and internal torment.
