Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes Trailer: 5 Key Things We Learned

5. It's Been 8 Years Since The Ape Uprising

Right away, we're told that humanity battled the deadly virus for four years, then fought each other for another four (more on that in a minute). The 8 year gap was actually Rupert Wyatt's idea, who told Movieline in 2012 that he wanted a whole new ape generation to be born, and the chance to explore the relationship between Caesar and Koba (the feral, evil-looking chimp we glimpsed near the end of the last movie). This also gives us a chance to witness how big Caesar's following has become, which was considerably small at the end of Rise (compared to the human population, that is). The trailer opens with a glimpse of a gas station overrun with vegetation, showing an eerie glimpse at what the state of the world is now that humanity has been all but eradicated. After the release of Rise, many critics and audience members discussed how, though the film is definitely a prequel, it doesn't necessarily lead right into the original 1968 film. We're given a great action sequence showing the ape uprising in San Francisco, and are shown how a virus effectively wipes out humanity. But really, that's not enough to establish the end game we all know and love, which is a planet completely overrun and controlled by apes. After all, there's a 1,967 year gap between the events of Rise and the events of the original. That presents filmmakers with plenty of opportunities to tell new stories that take place in that timeframe, which is a part of this franchise that has yet to be really mined and explored. Setting this film eight years after the first gives Reeves an opportunity to explore some of those possibilities, and tell new and interesting stories within the context of this universe. We also get to spend more time with Caesar, a character that was instrumental in the success of the first movie, while at the same time telling a gripping story about mankind's fight for survival.