Believe your eyes: apes on horseback have been spotted ahead of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Kevin Durand as Proximus Caesar in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

Do not adjust your TikTok – those are indeed apes on horseback on Venice Beach, Los Angeles. Well, not really. We're going to assume they're people dressed up, and it all seems to be tied into the upcoming movie Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. 

As you can see in the video below, Venice Beach was populated with apes riding horses across the sand. It's a pretty striking sight. Just what they're getting up to beyond looking scary remains to be seen. 

@switchflipjones

♬ original sound - Switchflipjones

The movie is set around 300 years after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes, which was released back in 2017. It follows a young woman called Mae (played by The Witcher star Freya Allan) who joins forces with the chimpanzee Noa to try and stop a tyrannical leader named Proximus Caesar. 

"He's the baddie," Proximus Caesar actor Kevin Durand told 12DOVE. "But it's coming down to, you know, homosapiens or apes and obviously he's on the side of the apes, so he’s willing to do whatever needs to happen, by any means necessary, to ensure a future for apekind. From the perspective of the narrative, he's definitely the baddie but yeah, when you watch the movie, you're like, 'Well, was he really that bad?'"

Along with Allan and Durand, the film's cast includes William H. Macy, Dichen Lachman, and Owen Teague.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes releases in UK cinemas on May 9, and in US theaters on May 10. Fill out your watchlist with our guide to all of this year's major movie release dates

Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English. 

Read more
The Monkey
Horror movie marketing ups its game once again, as the team behind The Monkey sends a gross-out bus to drive around Hollywood
Tatiana Maslany as 'Lois' in Osgood Perkins' horror-comedy The Monkey
The Monkey post-credits scene is reportedly a trailer for Longlegs director Osgood Perkins' next horror movie
The Monkey
The Monkey review: Longlegs director Osgood Perkins embraces his silly side in gory, surprisingly existential horror comedy
The Monkey
New horror movie from Longlegs director The Monkey will be the first film ever to screen in churches and theaters simultaneously
Tatiana Maslany as 'Lois' in Osgood Perkins' horror-comedy The Monkey
The Monkey post-credits scene explained: does the new horror movie have a post-credits scene?
The Monkey
Gory new trailer for Longlegs director's horror follow-up based on a Stephen King story has more deaths than you can shake a drumstick at
Latest in Sci-Fi Movies
Giancarlo Esposito in The Electric State
The Electric State star Giancarlo Esposito explains why adapting the bleak novel into a family friendly adventure was the right decision: "I'm going to bring my children with me"
Giancarlo Esposito in The Electric State
The Electric State may be the Russo brothers' most challenging VFX project yet, but stars Stanley Tucci and Giancarlo Esposito say it's one of the easiest films they’ve ever done
Giancarlo Esposito and Stanley Tucci in The Electric State
Stars Stanley Tucci and Giancarlo Esposito say their new dystopian sci-fi movie The Electric State is more like our own reality than we might realize
Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, and Ke Huy Quan in The Electric State
$320 million in the hole, the Russo brothers' new Netflix movie debuts to their worst Rotten Tomatoes score even though it's one of the most expensive films ever made
Zoe Saldaña in Avatar
James Cameron had "too many great ideas" for Avatar: The Way of Water, so the cut content became Avatar 3 which "will actually be a little bit longer" than its 3-hour predecessor
Robert Pattinson in Mickey 17
Director Bong Joon Ho explains his new sci-fi film Mickey 17's surprise end title card: "It's a coming-of-age-story"
Latest in News
Limbo
"You can't rewrite the past just because of a bad breakup": Legendary indie devs' feud is going public
Black Widow
Scarlett Johansson doubles down on never coming back as Black Widow: “Natasha is dead. She is dead. She’s dead. Okay?"
Image of the Blade Runner board game box
Rare Blade Runner board game prototype is being auctioned for over $500 but there’s a far cheaper way to bring the neo-noir classic to your tabletop
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds dev says the game's success is thanks to an "emphasis on the story," but I think that's only a tiny aspect of it
Agricola: Dead Harvest zombie farming board game artwork
Legendary farming board game Agricola just announced a zombie-fueled horror standalone, but fans seem to think it's an early April Fools joke
Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn on set of Joker 2
Lady Gaga jokingly celebrates Joker 2 reception and Razzie nominations: "Joke's on them. I love winning things"