Skip to main content

Final trailer for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes brings the world to the brink of war

three short films serve prequels dawn planet apes of the
Image used with permission by copyright holder

If humanity is ever devastated by a deadly virus and a race of hyper-intelligent apes begins to challenge our position at the top of the food chain, we are totally screwed.

At least, that seems to be the takeaway from the final trailer for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the sequel to 2011’s surprise hit Rise of the Planet of the Apes

In the new trailer, we see contact made between the human survivors of the virus that ravaged the world at the end of the 2011 film and the freed apes led by Caesar. What begins as a fragile truce soon takes the inevitable turn to all-out war as various elements — human and ape — conspire to force a showdown and determine exactly who the Earth’s dominant species will be. There’s a bit more footage depicting the friendship between the human Malcolm (Jason Clarke) and ape Caesar (Andy Serkis), as well as some indication of who the troublemakers will be on both sides of the war. (Say it ain’t so, Gary Oldman!)

The final trailer for the film doesn’t skimp on the action either, with sequences showing the apes taking down a massive bear, as well as a siege on a human city that includes apes on horseback brandishing automatic rifles in each hand. There’s also an interesting scene involving an ape and a pair of armed humans that indicates exactly how aware the apes are of humanity’s perception — and underestimation — of their intelligence.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes hits theaters July 11. 

Editors' Recommendations

Rick Marshall
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
James Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi movie can save Star Wars
Cover art for the Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi comic book series by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema.

This year's Star Wars Celebration brought exciting new looks into upcoming projects ranging from TV to movies, as well as the announcement that James Mangold (Logan, Ford v Ferrari) will helm an origin story of sorts set during the Dawn of the Jedi. And while this film will be looking back to the past, being set a whopping 25,000 years before the Battle of Yavin depicted in Star Wars: Episode IV -- New Hope, it is already poised to be one of the boldest theatrical premises for the franchise.

Star Wars has always been a universe characterized by great potential that's gone surprisingly untapped, with virtually endless storytelling possibilities in the distant past and far future. To address the elephant in the room, Lucasfilm also has a shoddy track record of late in axing or shelving announced and reported projects more than actually developing others, but Mangold's deft direction could break tired conventions and pave the way for the exciting Old Republic era on the big and small screens.
Breaking away from the Skywalker formula

Read more
Final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars gets epic trailer for Disney+ premiere
Stars War: The Clone Wars

Star Wars: The Clone Wars | Official Trailer | Disney+

Star Wars fans feeling the pain of not having any new movies or seasons of The Mandalorian on the horizon can take heart: A new season of The Clone Wars is coming soon.

Read more
3 underrated (HBO) Max movies you should watch this weekend (June 28-30)
A girl looks at a boy in House at the End of the Street.

June is surprisingly over, and with it, a great month for movies comes to a satisfactory close. You've probably watched Inside Out 2 or Bad Boys: Ride or Die or maybe even The Bikeriders. From blockbusters to indie fare, the theatrical movie business has been robust and healthy.

The same goes for streaming. Netflix had a big hit with Richard Linklater's Hit Man, while Amazon Prime Video recently premiered the latest bonkers season of The Boys. HBO and Max have been quieter, but their robust library speaks volumes to the streamer's high quality. The following three films are older, but are just as worth your time as new hits like House of the Dragon season 2.
The Skin I Live In (2011)

Read more