Friday marks the official, proper wide release of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Although the latest installment in the long-running franchise is set hundreds of years after the previous film, War for the Planet of the Apes, many moviegoers are rewatching the recent trilogy just to get in full Apes mode. Ready to go apesh*t at the theater. You know. Insert myriad ape puns here. Go ape with it.
The middle chapter of that previously mentioned trilogy, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, features an enhanced-intelligence bonobo named Koba as the primary antagonist. He’s portrayed in masterful mo-cap fashion by Toby Kebbell in one of his many hella underrated performances. Koba is a vicious rival to Andy Serkis’ main character of Caesar who thinks humans don’t deserve to coexist with apes.
With so many Apes things hitting the timelines across social media, yours truly is holding on for dear life by navigating the minefield of X/Twitter, hoping to dodge Kingdom spoilers before seeing it early next week. The good news? At least for now, a viral trend where clever photoshop artists insert Koba into any movie is making the rounds. Not only are many of the mock-ups hilarious, they’re also helping to obscure potential plot spoilers for Kingdom. That makes it double the fun for me to consume.
https://t.co/hOkNbJgQAd pic.twitter.com/hdvQJWfQO8
— InscrYption: Furiosa's Mod (@Runbash65) May 10, 2024
https://t.co/rXfZKF9GsW pic.twitter.com/KoY6hu4joV
— Nate Schwartz (@natenatenaters) May 10, 2024
https://t.co/cV83vkbyuQ pic.twitter.com/cZu33stmDW
— roobert (@Robbie_Dowd24) May 10, 2024
https://t.co/W8RraG6Qjc pic.twitter.com/U4xyLrxQjc
— cleo🚶♀️ (@punishedcleo) May 10, 2024
https://t.co/uHoRftCuR9 pic.twitter.com/IhnCPKHR5W
— Cheese (@ChoppedCheese_) May 10, 2024
https://t.co/sTpIxzQpqy pic.twitter.com/M19G8a6eck
— Jericho Sav (@TheReekShow) May 10, 2024
https://t.co/sqxqidQD9c pic.twitter.com/0GZLb0itEf
— triple w☝️ (@JackieJrAprile) May 10, 2024
https://t.co/v9HhduPvYe pic.twitter.com/FSp3RfZydJ
— campbell g (@rodeoman) May 10, 2024
https://t.co/NFAmSkbKt8 pic.twitter.com/CZHuUbUIW8
— thomas mahon (@mahonsunto) May 10, 2024
Platoon (1986) https://t.co/AB9YY4B9BY pic.twitter.com/qWBxWSbWSr
— Tony Adams (@adams_at) May 10, 2024
https://t.co/80O9Yo7FvM pic.twitter.com/nnPDWRljR6
— Complex Pop Culture (@ComplexPop) May 10, 2024
This tweet single-handedly broke film twitter https://t.co/wG57smoFGf pic.twitter.com/mgTRIwb1si
— Achintya (@mybacksachin) May 10, 2024
That person that posts paddington in movies is so done https://t.co/CyB8neG0cg pic.twitter.com/okxqyBxD60
— Leonardo Dicaprio Crumbled Under my Wrath (@alexorlich) May 10, 2024
You can’t convince me Madame Web wouldn’t be a better movie with a random Koba cameo. My personal favorite photoshop jobs among this group have to be from Heat, Platoon, Scream, and Halloween.
This Koba-fueled Kingdom spoiler buffer may not last. Whatever. At least it’s entertaining, and it’s an excuse for me to give a proper plug to Toby Kebbell as one of the best actors out there who hasn’t quite had the big blockbuster success in a central, starring role. You could put Dawn in that category, yet it’s tough because Kebbell is obscured by ape mo-cap. He just had an excellent turn in the Apple TV+ series For All Mankind, crushed a criminally overlooked Black Mirror episode titled “The Entire History of You”, was outstanding in another Apple TV+ show Servant that I couldn’t keep up with (no fault of his), and I’m almost certainly forgetting something else.
Unfortunately, Kebbell has had to rally for years due to his doomed role as Dr. Doom in the wayward 2015 Fantastic Four movie. That whole project was a disaster. Not at all a reflection on the actors. It’ll only help put that sh*t show in the rearview mirror now that Marvel Studios is gearing up for a summer shoot on the newest Fantastic Four flick.
Alrighty then. Didn’t think this article topic would lead to a Toby Kebbell fanboy tangent. The newest Apes movies really are stunning achievements. Check out one of the behind the scenes vids below.
