'Planet of the Apes' marketing is a major spoiler

Spoiler alerts have become a polite way of telling the internet that you're about to discuss aspects of a movie you don't want people to know before seeing it. People online have endlessly debated what constitutes a spoiler and what requires a warning. But the problem becomes even more complicated when spoilers appear in movie studio marketing.

It happens surprisingly often. Trailers are designed as sizzle reels, and trailers, especially for action- and effects-oriented films, often include footage from the final episode to market and center around the film's biggest, flashiest moments. Marketers often think of a movie's big plot twist as an equally flashy attraction. These days, all the trailers and even posters for horror movies. Abigail Revealing that the movie was clearly designed as a major narrative twist.Going back even further, James Cameron's marketer Terminator 2: Judgment Day They were so keen to introduce Arnold Schwarzenegger's role that they built an entire marketing campaign around what director Cameron clearly intended as a big surprise midway through the film.

marketing kingdom of the planet of the apes Until you actually see the movie, it doesn't feel like it's as blatant a spoiler as these examples. However, in their pursuit of poster-worthy imagery, the film's marketing team largely undermined what director Wes Ball and the screenwriters were trying to accomplish with the film's story.

[Ed. note: Spoilers for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ahead — or at least, context that’ll make it clearer how you’ve probably already been exposed to the spoiler.]

Image: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

kingdom of the planet of the apes The story begins with the funeral of Caesar, a chimpanzee who is the central character of the ape revolution that began with the 2011 reboot of the Ape series. genesis of the planet of the apes. The action then jumps forward “many generations” (300 years, according to 20th Century Studios), where humanity has become scattered and sparse, once human cities have become lush jungles, and ape clans have separated. Moving on to the era of living in a community of people. The main character, Noah (Owen Teague), and his best friends Suna (Lydia Peckham) and Anaya (Travis Jeffrey) belong to the Eagle tribe, a tribe of monkeys whose small society they raise, train, and bond with. It revolves around birds of prey that are deepening. .

The movie begins with Noah, Suna, and Anaya trying to collect eagle eggs for the upcoming ceremony to get their bonded bird. However, after a disaster occurs, Noah gets separated from the others and ends up traveling with San, an eagle owned by Noah's father, Koro. Noah previously had tense and longing relationships with both Koro and San. He believes that San is traveling with him only to ridicule and criticize his shortcomings.

Repeatedly throughout the film, Noah attempts to interact with San, either with violent consequences, or vocally rejects San's presence out of guilt and shame. Noah is literally whole movie Koro's recognition represents Koro's recognition and his legacy, and his willingness to engage with this giant eagle. It is clear that Noah associates his assumption of manhood and his position within his tribe with his attempts to bond with his father's raptors. Their connection is central to Noah's entire character and is closely tied to the film's climactic action scene.

Still, we saw how that arc ended in 30 seconds of the first teaser kingdom of the planet of the apesreleased a full six months before the movie.

Image: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

It is a symbolic image centered around the sun shining down on Noah's arm. kingdommarketing. It's in character posters, movie posters, and concept art. It's all over the trailer, on T-shirts, on pint glasses and on his AMC-exclusive popcorn cans. If you pay any attention to this movie, you won't miss it. Their bond was a selling point of the film from the beginning. And when you start watching the movie and see how much importance is given to the question of whether or not these two end up together in the story, it's unfathomable.

The weird thing about this particular spoiler is that when you look at the poster or watch the trailer, you don't think it's a spoiler at all. It simply reads as a world-building detail. This particular group of apes engages in eagle and falconry, just as certain tribes of humans have done in the past. This is a rather interesting reflection on how post-human species have adopted some of our habits while deliberately removing others.

But half an hour into the movie, Ball and the screenwriters allow the audience to empathize with the drama surrounding Noah and Sun's relationship, and Noah's hurt and confusion about whether Sun will accept him. It becomes clear that he was expecting something. For those of us who watch trailers or see movie posters, that question was answered six months ago.

Did we know from the beginning that these two crazy kids would eventually get back together? of course. After all, this is his four-quadrant action blockbuster, designed to allow audiences to walk away with a sense of triumph and catharsis. There is no world in which the protagonist of this film never reaps the rewards of his journey, never completes his story, never finds satisfaction through all the loss and change. Surely everyone could have predicted that Noah and Sun would eventually reconcile.

Image: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Even if they were at odds in the first place. The slightly sad aspect of this whole arc is that Noah clearly thinks that Koro has let him down and looks down on him, but there's nothing in Koro's actions that suggests that's true. There is no. It seems like he really loves his son and wants him to be happy. Koro is not a bully or a domineering monkey who keeps his distance. He is just the elder of the clan and has many other young people and eagles to look out for. It seems like their rift is entirely in Noah's head.

His troubles with Sun similarly seem to stem from shame and self-doubt rather than reality. It was clear from the beginning that Sun shared Noah's grief, that he led the chimpanzees to the lost tribe, and that he continued to draw closer to Noah in search of comfort and connection. . However, Noah's fear, anxiety, and anger become obstacles to their relationship. They can't bond until Noah lets go of some of those doubts and carries on his father's legacy with confidence.

All of them should be moments of triumph and payoff to an emotional and satisfying arc.I wish the ending of this story hadn't been advertised on all the posters and promotional images long before we knew what the story was about. was.