NYCC ’16: Details On Woody Harrelson’s ‘War For The Planet Of The Apes’ Role Revealed

The third film in the Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy, War for the Planet of the Apes, is set to release the summer of next year. With it comes a packed cast of humans and primates alike. Andy Serkis will return as lead ape Caesar, along with Steve Zahn and Judy Greer, who will both be suiting up in motion capture outfits. Woody Harrelson will be portraying the new human baddie (every Planet of the Apes movie needs one), antagonizing Caesar and his hairy companions. We first saw Harrelson’s character, Colonel, in the War of the Planet of the Apes teaser trailer shown at NYCC this year.

Yesterday, during the first day of New York Comic Con, new details about Colonel were revealed. Matt Reeves, director of War for the Planet of the Apes, enthusiastically shared the character’s motives, revealing that he turns the movie into a “dark revenge tale” of sorts.

“His [Woody Harrelson’s] character, we don’t think of any of the antagonists as villains, per say, because you have to understand where they’re coming from in a justified way. The humans are in a desperate place and he is extreme and you find out why he’s so extreme as the story goes on so you have empathy for him, too. He’s pretty dark.”

Reeves didn’t reveal why we’ll empathize with Colonel, or why he seems to have it out for Caesar, but as NYCC is underway, I’m sure more information will be revealed soon! War for the Planet of the Apes will release in theaters July 14, 2017.

In War for the Planet of the Apes, the third chapter of the critically acclaimed blockbuster franchise, Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel. 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 their species and the future of the planet.

Source: Comicbook.com