Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Some apes arrive at the film’s world premiere (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic). FilmMagic In a quiet and emotionally powerful moment in this year’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, our chimpanzee protagonist, Noa, is exploring the world beyond his clan for the first time. And here, while along his journey, he stumbles upon an abandoned and plant-covered Griffith Observatory telescope. And so, out of curiosity, he steps forward to peer through the eyepiece. And he is frozen in awe of what he sees. But, the movie chooses to never show us what exactly this was. “There was tons of discussion back and forth about what it should be, what it could be, what it was on the page,” Rick Jaffa, producer on the film, told me. He described the extensive conversations between himself, producer Amanda Silver, director Wes Ball and various executives about the full details of this moment and how much of that needed to be on screen. But, in the end, they all decided to never reveal what sat on the other end of the telescope. In my interview, Jaffa and Silver insisted that this was the best choice for the film that they were making. And this duo is well-experienced to be making that call. It was in the early 2000s when married filmmaking couple Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver called Fox to pitch them their idea to revamp the Apes franchise, which at that point had just seen a less-than-loved 2001 reboot. And so Jaffa and Silver helped shape a unique take on this world, this time centering on an ape named Caeser along with human protagonists. And when the movie, ultimately titled Rise of the Planet of the Apes, finally hit theaters in 2011, this angle utilized groundbreaking advances in motion capture technology to get audiences to emotionally connect with a realistic, non-human character in a way that elevated the story in a way that few had seen before. Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver are no strangers to the ‘Apes’ franchise (Photo by Gonzalo … [+] Marroquin/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images) Paul Bruinooge/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images MORE FOR YOU Apple Confirms iPhone Upgrade With 2 Key New Features Is Here In Days ‘House Of The Dragon’ Season 2, Episode 2 Recap And Review: ‘I Love You Brother’ Disney Forced To Reveal Unequal Pay On Star Wars Show ‘The Acolyte’ And so from there Jaffa and Silver became hot commodities in Hollywood. They were brought in again to write and produce for the sequel, 2014’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. And then they came on board once again, this time to produce only, for the closing to this trilogy in 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes. And that brings us back to a few years before the present, when the studio again started discussions about a way to continue this revived franchise. And of course, with so much experience now, Jaffa and Silver had ideas. “We were on the same page in terms of this kind of span of generations, perhaps around 300 years. And that it would be a fresh start, new apes. But that the legacy of Caesar would still be affecting the ape world in different ways,” Silver told me. Due to other commitments, Jaffa and Silver were not available to write this time. But they happily came on board to produce once again, this time partnering with director Wes Ball and also bringing on their collaborator and friend Josh Friedman to write. The couple tells me that the main idea they had for this fourth entry was centering the story around a fully speaking ape and a feral human, and how their relationship develops in this future world. They started there, and that DNA remains in the finished project, but from that seed what emerged, in their words, was a true marriage of all these creative minds. It’s that marriage of minds that ultimately came together to build the telescope scene which, though it is far removed from the loud and complex battles seen elsewhere in the film, largely serves as the movie’s heart. And Jaffa tells me it only works so well because, ultimately, it doesn’t matter what exactly Noa saw. “I think that thematically it’s really—it’s not about what he sees. It’s not about what’s there. It’s really about his universe expanding. It’s really a character moment,” Jaffa said. He tells me that Noa is someone who’s entire world was his one clan, his family and community of a fascinating group of apes that excel in training eagles. But when Noa gets forced out of that comfortable cocoon and into the rough wider world, he loses many assumptions and is forced to mature in the face of all that he does not know. Owen Teague portrays the young ape Noa in the film (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic). FilmMagic And it’s in that light, in the face of that arc, that Noa’s reaction to seeing through the telescope makes more sense. That is, again, it doesn’t matter what exactly he saw up there. What matters is that with this view he comes to understand, dramatically, that the universe he lives in is far greater in scope than he could have ever before imagined. And it’s not just Noa who has that realization, but the human character Mae as well. “What’s exciting about Mae is that she has an agenda which sometimes is dangerous to Noa and his apes. And so as her friendship grows with Noa she has choices, very tough choices, to make about her allegiance to humans, and her mission, and her feelings for this friend that she’s made and his friends,” Silver said. In this way, the producers tell me that Mae has an arc similar to Noa’s. Whereas Noa only knew the world of his clan and sought to stay loyal to them. Mae only knew about the world of humans, and clearly bought in to ideas of human supremacy. And so in this journey, and in coming to trust and ally with apes, we see how her assumptions about her world are challenged as well. Amanda Silver tells me how much of this film, including the telescope scene, was discovered and decided on as they worked through the movie’s sequential iterations. Silver describes how, as with many films, there was first the iteration on the page, then the iteration coming from the footage of actors on set, then another in the editing room and then finally the one that emerged after the animators at Wētā. And throughout this process, she explains, they would review the story with fresh eyes to reevaluate what moments and details belonged and what needed to be removed. “I always miss certain moments and certain scenes that were in the script, but they ultimately didn’t belong in the movie. You’ve got to let them go. You’ve got to be nimble enough to see what’s working,” Silver said. The movie, set centuries after the last one, explores Caeser’s complicated legacy (Photo by Jeff … [+] Spicer/Getty Images). Jeff Spicer/Getty Images But will we ever find out what was on the other end of the telescope? It’s possible. Long time fans of this franchise will know that space and space-travel is deeply present in earlier entries which feature spaceships, astronauts and even time travel. But while all of this is arguably key to this brand, it has all been absent from the four films that make up this new, modern take on it. So did Noa see something on the other end of the telescope that may hint at a return to that mold? Perhaps a coming spaceship? Or perhaps a black hole or some odd phenomena that may make time travel again possible? It would seem these producers have some idea in their minds of what an answer might sound like, as well as ideas for what may happen in the rest of this second trilogy. But for now, they insist on keeping all that to themselves. “I can’t tell you what it is!” Jaffa ultimately said with a laugh as I pressed on the telescope scene. So at least for the present film, the answer to that question remains a mystery. But to those who have seen the movie, and have seen the wonder in Noa’s eyes, they will likely agree that the movie does work much better as is. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has grossed over $380 million worldwide, and continues to play to positive fan and critical responses. Disney, director Wes Ball and both Jaffa and Silver have also noted plans for several sequels to come, hoping to create a saga of nine films in this new continuity. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes released in theaters on May 10, 2024 and stars Owen Teague, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon, Freya Allan and William H. Macy. The film is directed by Wes Ball with a script from Josh Friedman. For more on the latest in movies and TV, follow my page on Forbes. 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