Movie Fans Celebrate Favorite ‘Planet of the Apes’ Characters

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes officially hit movie theaters over the weekend and roared its way to a $56 million opening at the domestic box office (about $130 internationally), which is about the same total that War for the Planet of the Apes made in 2017.

Ever since the modern Planet of the Apes franchise was launched in 2011 with Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the franchise has established a reputation as being one of Hollywood’s best sci-fi franchises, as the subsequent follow-ups, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for Planet of the Apes, were equally revered by critics and audiences alike.

Now that Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is in theaters and continuing the beloved franchise, movie fans have spent recent days celebrating the series with memes and tweets about their favorite Apes characters, particularly Koba, Mauirce, and Bad Ape.

One tweet suggesting that “Koba should be in every movie” has racked up over 46 million views.

Another popular strand of tweets have been in praise of the ape Maurice, who features in all three films, and the War for the Planet of the Apes character “Bad Ape,” who was portrayed by Steve Zahn.

Unfortunately for Planet of the Apes fans, however, because Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is set many generations after the previous trilogy, none of these characters appear in Kingdom except for Caesar (and only in the prologue).

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, directed by Wes Ball, stars Owen Teague in the lead role of Noa. Additional stars include Kevin Durand as Proximus Caesar, Peter Macon as Raka, Freya Allan as Mae, William H. Macy as Trevathan, Lydia Peckham as Soona, Travis Jeffery as Anaya, and more.

Check out the official trailer for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes below.