Disney's New Planet Of The Apes Trilogy and the 13-Year-Old Original Movie Easter Egg

Introduction

Disney's upcoming Planet of the Apes trilogy, starting with 2024's Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, is set to bring to fruition an intriguing Easter egg that first appeared 13 years ago in 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes Icarus easter egg

The original movie in the franchise reboot chronicled the events that set both apes and humans on a path that ended with apes as the dominant species and humans as little more than mute cattle. It introduced Andy Serkis' character Caesar, who became a messiah for apekind, and whose legacy will continue in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, set many years after Caesar's death.

Kingdom of the planet of the apes image with an ape on horseback riding towards an overgrown city

The trilogy, which began with Rise of the Planet of the Apes, focused on a previously unexplored part of the timeline laid out in the original Planet of the Apes films from the 1960s and 1970s. While the rebooted series featured some one-off Easter eggs from the original series, it remained singularly focused on its original story.

A ape society next to an ocean in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

However, there is one significant Easter egg from Rise of the Planet of the Apes that could come to fruition in the newest trilogy, perhaps immediately given where Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes fits on the franchise timeline.

Freya Allan as Mae hiding in tall grass in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

The Missing Astronauts Easter Egg

The first movie in the rebooted series contained a hint about the missing astronauts from the original Planet of the Apes. In the background of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, there are details about a space mission that is very clearly a reference to the mission that brings Charlton Heston's George Taylor to the future in the 1968 version of Planet of the Apes.

An ape on a horse rides up to a dark tunnel.

The mission's launch is shown on a TV in the background very briefly, and later in the movie, a newspaper headline notes that the shuttle, which was intended to bring astronauts to Mars for the first time, was lost in space. This Easter egg is one of the clearest indicators that the modern trilogies fall on the same overall timeline as the original series.

An ape holds up a torch to look at the underground tunnel in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes' Connection to the Original Movie

The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes timeline is swiftly approaching the original movie. While the beachside ape civilization depicted in the trailer is not as sophisticated as the one seen in Planet of the Apes, there are many elements that align with the action of the original.

Apes on horseback in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

The relationship between humans and apes, as well as the devolution of humanity into an animalistic state, are significant elements that align with the original movie. Apes hunting humans and the potential return of Charlton Heston's character, George Taylor, are all part of the connection between Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and the original movie.

Charlton Heston Standing Shirtless with a Group of Apes in Planet of the Apes