'War For The Planet Of The Apes' Trailer: Witness The End Of Mankind

By Hoai-Tran BuiMay 16, 2017 6:50 am EST

The final trailer for War for the Planet of the Apes will bring about "the end" — but for whom?

We find Caesar (Andy Serkis) broken, physically and emotionally, by the toll of war, as the fate of apes and humanity hangs in the balance. But as the war escalates to its final act, led on the human side by Woody Harrelson and what looks like a primate who has betrayed his kind, Caesar finds hope in a silent, lost child who he takes under his wing.

"I did not start this war," Caeasar intones wearily in the trailer, as we have heard before. Angrily he concludes, "But I will finish it."

Though the fate of humankind hangs in the balance, War for the Planet of the Apes seems resolutely on Caesar and the apes' side, as they fight a war they never wanted in the first place. Even the colonel leading the charge for humanity (Harrelson), seems to only reinforce the inhumanity of humans that the Planet of the Apes franchise has explored, mocking Caesar in a new scene from the trailer.

"You are impressive," Harrelson snidely says to Caesar. "You're smart as hell, you're stronger than we are, but you're taking this all much too personally. So emotional!"

Except for the mute girl (Amiah Miller), the war for our sympathies in the third installment of the Planet of the Apes reboot series seem to be set up to be won by the apes. It's a great feat — and ironic twist — that this series would essentially have us rooting for the end of our own species. Though from Rise of the Planet of the Apes, to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the films have been surprisingly poignant and fully realized blockbusters — which is why War is so high up on /Film's list of anticipated summer movies.

See the official synopsis below:

Caesar (Andy Serkis) and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless colonel (Woody Harrelson). After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both of their species and the future of the planet.

Directed by Matt Reeves, War for the Planet of the Apes hits theaters July 14, 2017.