“War of the Planet of the Apes” is reportedly the official title of the third prequel to the “Planet of the Apes.” Its events will take place after the tragic and telling events of “Dawn of the Planet Apes,” where Caesar said, “War has already begun. Ape started war. And human will not forgive.”

Director Matt Reeves told Collider that he actually had a different ending in mind for the film. However, he realized that he did not want “to be boxed in” that way.

“I think we should be left more open, knowing that we were going to figure out what the next story is. I did not want to, in a way, narrow our options. I wanted to open them up,” Reeves said.

The alteration of the ending provided a lot of breathing room for the trajectory of the franchise’s future films. According to Cinema Blend, the ending showed that the war had already started, with warships arriving in San Francisco. Instead of that war scene, the audience saw Caesar surrounded by his fellow primates, who love and respect him.

“What was really important was to leave you in that emotional space with Caesar, which is the ending of the movie that you have seen, and know that the future is coming, but not already be at that future,” Reeves explained. “The moment is really about the moment that ‘s past."

Furthermore, “War of the Planet of the Apes” might succeed in catching the attention of the masses, but the title in itself imposes some changes to the development of the story. The direct mention of "war" teases a quicker development of the ape civilization. Reeves had reportedly originally wanted to take a slower approach towards the storyline of “Planet of the Apes.”

And despite the fact that Caesar had already acknowledged the war, as seen in the ending of the previous film, reports indicated that he had actually wanted to push for peace instead.

Reeves said that the film will be about Caesar, not as a war leader, but as “the ape Moses.” It will reportedly show how the film’s lead primate will become a “seminal figure in ape history.”

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