We were joined back on the Popternative show by Owen Teague (Eileen, Bloodline, It) who plays Noa, a young chimpanzee, in the action-adventure Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, premiering in theaters May 10th. The film will be available in IMAX, 4DX, ScreenX, and premium screens.
Directed by Wes Ball (The Maze Runner trilogy), this new addition to the Planet of the Apes franchise is set several generations in the future following Caesar’s reign, where apes are the dominant species living harmoniously, and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.
It also stars Freya Allan (Baghead, The Witcher), Kevin Durand (Abigail, Locke & Key), Peter Macon (The Orville, Shameless), and William H. Macy (Shameless, Fargo). The screenplay is by Josh Friedman (Foundation, War of the Worlds), and based on characters created by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (Mulan, Avatar: The Way of Water).
On getting ready to play Noa, Owen tells us that a lot of of preparation occurred before even filming:
“[My preparation] started in New York when I hadn’t even gone to Australia yet. I spent a month training at a parkour gym just to get in shape because I knew I would be doing this for half a year. And then I spent a week with actual chimpanzees at a sanctuary in Florida called The Center for Great Apes. I interacted with chimps, I played games with chimps, and in one case spoke ASL with a chimpanzee. That was a crucial week for me to have to just absorb the behaviors and how they move. Then it was our ape school work. That was really where we formed these bonds with each other that you see on screen.”
Attending Ape School was also an essential part: “Then it was our Ape School work. That was really where we formed these bonds with each other that you see on screen.” Watch the full conversation with Owen Teague below.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will be released in theaters globally May 10th.
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