The spread and outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus has resulted in many disruptions around the world. From international travel restrictions and feature film productions being halted, the entire planet is feeling the effects of the pandemic even in the most surprising places. Yesterday a video began to go viral on Twitter showing what was dubbed "gangs of monkeys" in the streets of Thailand, all fighting over one banana since tourists that would normally be feeding them are no longer present due to the spread of the virus. Naturally this video and the social media reactions have arrived at one place: Planet of the Apes.
A video of monkeys (who are not apes) running through the streets in droves and no people in sight certainly does call back to the films, but fans and celebrities are pointing out the other similarities. In the context of the most recent Planet of the Apes movies, the apes gain their advanced brain power as a result of the "ALZ-112" drug which ends up causing the "Simian Flu," a viral pandemic that spreads around the world and results in the death of most of humanity.
All that said, we've collected some of the best tweets and jokes about the video which you can check out below! For the pure sake of being pedantic, we will note that the circumstances the world is feeling right now because of COVID-19 and the release of this monkey video is not "exactly like Planet of the Apes" like so many have noted.
The Planet of the Apes franchise was dormant after the release of the 2018 film War for the Planet of the Apes and after thee acquisition of 20th Century Fox by The Walt Disney Company. A new film is officially in development though with Maze Runner director Wes Ball set to helm the project. It was previously reported that Ball's film would be a reboot again and not a sequel to the most recent trilogy of movies.
"I'll say this about Apes... I grew up on the original and absolutely love the previous trilogy," the director previously said about the film. "I would only do this if I felt I could offer something special while still honoring what's come before. We have something that's shaping up to be an awesome chapter to this franchise."
Former Disney CEO Bob Iger previously said that Disney intended to pursue further entries in the franchise last year. The studio recently set release dates for many untitled films through the year 2023, including untitled Fox movies, one of which could end up being where a new Planet of the Apes movie lands.
Thailand would still be a place on the Planet of the Apes
One apocalyptic event at a time
The reboot is already going