When ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes‘ came to a close many wondered if Toby Kebbell’s Koba was actually dead and producer Dylan Clark is answering that question in ‘War for the Planet of the Apes‘. On the one hand, we saw Caesar‘s ex-besty apparently fall to his doom into a fiery pit of death hundreds of feet below them. On the other hand, we’ve all seen Darth Vader survive such a fall and heard Koba breathing heavily during the end credits of the film.
Be forewarned! There are spoilers beyond this point!
So will Koba be making an extra-crispy comeback that will be giving Caesar more than a run for his money as he has to worry about not just the human threat but his fellow apes as well? According to Clark:
“I can tell you 100% Koba’s not alive in this movie.”
While there was apparently some consideration about bringing Caesar’s nemesis back for a second round or for future sequels, it didn’t end up going anywhere:
“There was talk… Matt and I — we loved Toby Kebbell. Koba’s a great character. He was great for entertainment and for Caesar… Caesar loved Koba. He was his brother until the humans showed up and Koba couldn’t contain his rage. We loved what that said about the world but we also loved what it said emotionally for these two characters. We were really sad to see [Koba] in visual effect meetings tumble down three hundred feet and die in a fiery ball of hell. They wouldn’t have done that to Darth Vader… So we were like ‘God – did we make a mistake killing Koba?’ But again we have to look each other in the eyes and say – ‘could anybody survive that fall? For real?’ And the answer is no.”
So while we did hear the Ape that would have taken Caesar’s throne had he the chance, it was nothing more than his death rattle. He may have found a way out of the fire but it is quite clear he wasn’t able to survive what had happened to him past that.
That being said, the death of Koba will be a theme that haunts Caesar through the film as the “guilt” of killing another Ape is staying with him and divide the Apes even further:
“There was already a big faction. We couldn’t get too deep in with those characters with Koba but there were a lot of Koba sympathizers. There were a couple guys sitting on the rock basically flipping Caesar off. [They] didn’t agree with how Caesar was leading the apes and in this movie, there is conflict within the apes. There are some apes that have not been on Caesar’s side. How far will they go to survive?”
So, just because Koba is gone, don’t think he or the revolution that he attempted to start will be forgotten. It will be fun to watch how that plays out on the big screen when the film is released next summer.
Synopsis:
In ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’, the third chapter of the critically acclaimed blockbuster franchise, Caesar, and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both of their species and the future of the planet.
Helmed by returning director Matt Reeves, ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’ stars Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, Judy Greer, Karin Konoval, Amiah Miller, and Terry Notary. The movie’s theatrical release is scheduled for July 14, 2017.
Source: Collider
Stuart Conover is an author, blogger, and all around geek. When not busy being a father and husband he tries to spend as much time as possible immersed in comic books, science fiction, and horror! Would you like to know more? Follow him on Twitter!
