Caesar's Fate Is Clear In 'War For The Planet Of The Apes'

The end is in sight for the latest Planet of the Apes trilogy, which acts as a kind of prequel to the films from the 1960s and '70s. In War For The Planet of the Apes, there are major battles fought between the humans and the apes for control of, well, the Earth. It sounds pretty intense, but when it comes to wondering who will win and even whether major characters like Caesar die in War for the Planet of the Apes, it's only natural the intensity gets turned up a notch. Spoilers ahead!

Unfortunately, Caesar does indeed die in the film, and, to make things even sadder, he dies fighting to protect his ape community. It's meant to be a death for a noble cause, as he squares off against the radical leader of the human army, The Colonel, a man who would rather wipe apes off the face of the planet than even attempt to co-habitate peacefully. This conflict between Caesar and The Colonel breeds the kind of discord between apes and humans that audiences were introduced to in older films. All things considered, it makes sense that the intensity of this clash is such that it results in major deaths on both sides, including Caesar's.

From the very beginning of the franchise, it's been established that Caesar is a wise leader, one who is always driven to do the right thing. He's often shown attempting to navigate his human upbringing with his ape instincts, which is how he ends up in the position of power that he holds in War of the Planet of the Apes. This ranking and his meaning to the ape world makes his death even more impactful. It also makes sense within the confines of the story that Caesar dies doing the right thing and fighting to protect his community, a community that will eventually rule over the entire Earth.

Also, for what it's worth, it would make sense that this is where Caesar's story ends. It's not a spoiler for the movies that are decades old, but there is no Caesar in the first Planet of the Apes films from the '60s and '70s. Not a single mention of him. Thus, in a way, audiences always knew that Caesar's story would end with this prequel trilogy. It's bittersweet, but it was always going to happen.

For now, let's just enjoy the time we have left with Caesar in War for the Planet of the Apes because this trilogy finale is going to wrap up more than just Caesar's story.