War for the Planet of the Apes (2017): Cast, Plot and Ending Explained
War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), directed by Matt Reeves, is the third of the four modern Planet of the Apes films and the ninth in release order, with Andy Serkis as Caesar leading his tribe against a human military unit. It runs 140 minutes and opened in US theaters on July 14, 2017, after Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and before Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024). Woody Harrelson plays the Colonel, Steve Zahn plays Bad Ape and Amiah Miller plays Nova.
War for the Planet of the Apes Plot: How It Starts
War for the Planet of the Apes opens two years after the war between apes and humans began, with Caesar's colony hiding in the forest. A human military unit called Alpha-Omega hunts the apes, helped by apes whom the soldiers mock as donkeys. Its leader is a ruthless Colonel, and a raid he leads on the colony takes a terrible personal toll on Caesar's family. Caesar sends most of his tribe toward a possible new refuge, and then sets out with a few trusted friends to find the Colonel.
Michael Giacchino composed the score for War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), and the album, "War for the Planet of the Apes: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack", was released by Sony Classical on July 7, 2017. It is a score album with 17 tracks, so the music that carries the film is Giacchino's orchestral writing rather than a collection of pop or rock songs.
The film does feature one song: "Hey Joe" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. It plays while the Colonel interrogates Caesar, which places a well known rock recording inside one of the most tense confrontations in the story. No source describes the track as written for the film, so it is listed as a licensed song rather than an original one.
That contrast is useful to know if you are listening to the film's music on its own. The album gives you the score as Giacchino wrote it, and the Hendrix recording belongs to the film itself rather than to the score release. In my opinion, using just one song makes it stand out more, since the rest of the soundtrack stays orchestral.
"Hey Joe" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
If you are comparing the music across the saga, Cinvibe covers every composer and album in the planet of the apes soundtrack guide.
Caesar leaves his tribe to hunt the Colonel who killed members of his family, and the journey ends with the apes reaching a new home and Caesar dying of his wound. Alpha-Omega soldiers attack the hidden colony, and Caesar sends the tribe to look for a safer place across the desert. He then rides out with Maurice, Rocket and Luca to track the Colonel.
On the way the group takes in a mute orphan girl, whom Maurice names Nova. They also meet Bad Ape, a lonely chimp who has survived alone and who leads them to a military compound. The compound turns out to be a prison camp where the Colonel is working captured apes as forced labor. Caesar is captured and tortured, and he learns that a mutated strain of the virus is stripping humans of speech and intelligence. The Colonel has been killing the infected, including his own son, to protect what he sees as humanity's last chance.
With help from Nova and Bad Ape, Caesar and the other apes break out through a tunnel. Another human army then attacks the compound. Caesar finds the Colonel already sick and refuses to kill him, so the Colonel ends his own life. Caesar is wounded by a crossbow bolt during the chaos, and he sets off a fuel tank, which causes an avalanche that buries the attacking soldiers. The surviving apes, with Nova, reach the new refuge, and Caesar dies there from his wound.
Premiere and Release Dates
War for the Planet of the Apes reached UK theaters on July 11, 2017, ahead of its US release on July 14 and its Australian release on July 27. The US date is confirmed by The Numbers, while Box Office Mojo and TMDB report the UK and Australian dates. The film was originally set for July 29, 2016, and that date was postponed.
The film is rated PG-13 in the US, 12A in the UK and M in Australia. At 140 minutes (2 hours 20 minutes) it is the second longest of the four modern films, after Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes at 145 minutes, with Dawn at 130 and Rise at 105.
War for the Planet of the Apes Ending ExplainedSpoilers
In the War for the Planet of the Apes ending, the apes escape the compound, an avalanche wipes out the human forces, and Caesar dies at the refuge after Nova and the tribe arrive. The Colonel dies by his own hand rather than by Caesar's, because he is already sick when Caesar finds him. Caesar, secretly dying of his crossbow wound, shares a quiet last moment with Maurice, and Maurice promises that Caesar's son Cornelius will learn what his father did.
Is Caesar the monkey dead? Yes, and the film does not hedge about it. Caesar is a chimpanzee rather than a monkey, but the answer is the same: the wound from the crossbow bolt kills him once the tribe is safe. In my opinion, the ending works because Caesar refuses the revenge he set out to take. He does not kill the Colonel, and his one decisive act, setting off the fuel tank, saves the tribe rather than avenging his family.
The Maurice line matters too. Matt Reeves said, according to Gizmodo, that Maurice's final line was added during rehearsals because the emotion of the scene was not landing as written. It could be argued that the line gives Caesar's death a purpose beyond grief, since it hands the story to Cornelius. The timeline then jumps: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes begins many generations after Caesar's death, when apes rule the Earth and most humans have become wild and mute. The planet of the apes timeline shows where War sits between those eras.
Where Was War for the Planet of the Apes Filmed?
War for the Planet of the Apes was filmed mainly in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada, which stood in for the devastated West Coast of the United States. Sets were built at Mammoth Studios. Principal photography began on October 14, 2015 under the working title Hidden Fortress and ran to early March 2016.
Snow scenes were planned for the Kananaskis Range in Alberta in early 2016. Performance capture was shot on location, which meant the production 3D scanned every facet of its sets and recalibrated its motion capture process for below freezing temperatures and snow flurries, according to Screen Global Production.
War for the Planet of the Apes Trivia
The best known facts about the making of War for the Planet of the Apes concern its working title, its capture technology and one late change to a line of dialogue.
Principal photography began on October 14, 2015 in Vancouver's Lower Mainland under the working title Hidden Fortress.
Weta Digital created the apes by combining motion capture with CGI keyframe animation.
The original release date of July 29, 2016 was postponed.
Performance capture was shot on location, and each shot was filmed twice, sometimes four times.
The production recalibrated its capture process for sub freezing temperatures and snow flurries.
Maurice's final line was added during rehearsals, according to Matt Reeves.
British Columbia stood in for the West Coast of the United States.
Michael Giacchino composed the score for War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), released on a 17 track album by Sony Masterworks. Film Music Reporter, checked 2026-11-03
The apes escape the Colonel's compound, and an avalanche set off by an exploding fuel tank buries the attacking human army. The Colonel ends his own life instead of dying by Caesar's hand. Caesar's tribe and Nova reach the oasis refuge, and Caesar dies there from a crossbow wound after a last moment with Maurice.
Is Caesar the monkey dead?
Yes. Caesar, a chimpanzee, dies at the refuge from the crossbow wound he took during the attack on the compound. Maurice promises that Caesar's son Cornelius will learn what his father did, and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes later begins many generations after Caesar's death.
How many Planet of the Apes movies are there from 2011?
There are four: Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024). War is the third of the four.
Is there going to be a 4th Planet of the Apes movie?
The fourth modern film already exists: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024). Beyond it, TheWrap reported on May 6, 2026 that 20th Century Studios has Matt Shakman directing an untitled Planet of the Apes film, written by Josh Friedman, as a new original story rather than a Kingdom sequel. No release date has been given, so it remains in development.
Where can you watch War for the Planet of the Apes, and is it on Netflix?
No, War for the Planet of the Apes is not on Netflix in the US, UK or Australia, according to TMDB (via JustWatch) on November 3, 2026. In the US it streams on Hulu and HBO Max, and can be rented or bought from Amazon Video, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango At Home. In the UK and Australia it streams on Disney Plus, and Australia also has purchase options from Apple TV, Amazon Video, YouTube and Fetch TV. Availability changes, so check where to watch planet of the apes.
Is Planet of the Apes considered racist?
The series is often read as an allegory about prejudice and enslavement, but that is interpretation rather than fact, and opinions differ on how well the franchise handles it. In this film the Colonel forces captured apes into labor in a prison camp and is the antagonist, while Caesar refuses to kill him in the end.
