The ending of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is tragic, inevitable, and telling. Caesar’s motivation throughout the film is trying to avoid war through a policy of isolation, and then seeing if peace is even possible. Fear on both sides destroys any possibility of peace, and then in the closing lines of the film Caesar says, “War has… already begun. Ape started war. And human… Human will not forgive.”

So the title of the next film may not be shocking, but we’re hearing from sources that the next Planet of the Apes movie will be titled:

War of the Planet of the Apes

And I’m on board with that. It’s a good, strong title that raises the stakes, and certainly breaks from the interchangeable “Rise” and “Dawn” for the recent Planet of the Apes films.

Director Matt Reeves was already pushing to send the apes into war for the ending of Dawn, and told Steve that the original ending “went one step further”, but he didn’t want to be boxed in. Here’s his full quote: