Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes' hero Noa is just like Frodo Baggins and Luke Skywalker, says director

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes director Wes Ball has teased the similarities between the franchise's new protagonist Noa, who can be seen in an exclusive image above, and iconic heroes like Lord of the Rings' Frodo Baggins and Star Wars' Luke Skywalker.

"Noa fits that archetype," the filmmaker tells Total Film in our new issue out on Thursday March 28, which features The Fall Guy on the cover. "He's a new character we can identify with, appreciate, respect, because he's incredibly kind and nice. But he is going to undergo this great transformation, or at least the beginnings of one in this movie, where that innocence is robbed of him a little bit."

Set almost 300 years after the events of 2017's War for the Planet of the Apes, Kingdom sees feral young woman Mae team up with young chimpanzee Noa (Black Mirror's Owen Teague) to thwart the evil plans of ape leader Proximus Caesar (Abigail's Kevin Durand), who has twisted the legendary Caesar's teachings to enslave pockets of primates in his hunt for the last traces of human technologies.

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As it stands, The Witcher's Freya Allan is the only known cast member actually playing a human in the movie, with Travis Jeffery, Lydia Peckham, Neil Sandilands, and Peter Macon all playing apes. Eka Darville, Dichen Lachman, and William H. Macy round out the supporting cast, though we yet to find out what their roles are.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is set to release on May 10. You can read more about it, and a whole lot else besides, in the new issue of Total Film when it hits shelves and digital newsstands on Thursday, March 28.

Check out the covers below:

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