Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes: 7 Awesome Easter Eggs And References You Probably Missed

6. Previously On POTA

The change of director, human cast and even genre (in between films we go from contemporary drama to post-apocalyptic thriller) could have been a bit of a shock to audiences, particularly those introduced to the series with Rise. But as well as keeping the same locale (San Francisco and the nearby woods), Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes goes the distance and opens exactly where Rise left off. A secondary story to Caesar's escape, the Simian Flu was revealed at the climax of the reboot to be this new timeline's equivalent of nuclear holocaust (the self-made cause of humanity's destruction), its spread shown in a great tracking shot of the globe. Instead of simply picking up with the apes, Dawn plays out the same shot, extended for impact. Serving almost as a TV-style "Previously on..." it's a quick trick that serves multiple purposes. On a basic level it gets those members of the audience who've somehow missed the blanket marketing campaign up to speed with the story, but thematically it links two very different films and serves as one of the few direct visual call backs to Rise.