There’s always a winner and a loser in war. So when it comes to the ongoing battle between man and apes in the Planet of the Apes prequel trilogy, we pretty much know which species is going to lose.

The trailer we saw yesterday for War for the Planet of the Apes was only a tease of what’s to come, but today’s new trailer encapsulates what this war has done to both sides and how one of them will do anything to become the victor. Check it out below.

While most trailers would play around with the idea of the franchise coming to an end, War for the Planet of the Apes uses the word to indicate that this might be the final film for this franchise before heading off to Planet of the Apes or a reboot of that film. Regardless of what actually happens, the movie feels like it could be the most emotional of the three, considering that Caesar (Andy Serkis) still lives by his code and declares that apes are not savages. While man, led by Colonel (Woody Harrelson) motivates his soldiers by saying they could tell their children that they fought to protect this world in the “greatest war.” He then finishes strong with “We created them. Now we will bring an end to their kind.”

What makes these Planet of the Apes prequels work so well is that it isn’t a part of some ongoing shared universe. There’s no real MacGuffin, but there are real stakes and real emotions. All these things define the franchise. So its great that these films aren’t racing towards some sort of deadline but rather they are fleshed out to give us characters that we can connect to.

Steve Zahn, Judy Greer, Amiah Miller, Karin Konoval, Gabriel Chavarria, and Terry Notary also star.

Here’s the official synopsis:

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.

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

Trailer

[Source: 20th Century Fox YT]