In the four years since Matt Reeves revealed the Batman that everyone deserved, hunger for the World’s Greatest Detective has only increased. Batman Part II is finally on the docket after a deafening silence, but there is still some time before fans will see what the director has up his sleeve. Until then, Reeves has a wide range of films to explore, some of which are extremely underrated.
In 2014, the director took over the Planet of the Apes franchise with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. The film follows the James Franco-led Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which was a humble start to a definitive trilogy. Reeves expanded on the original concept of a virus wiping out humanity and created a story that defied all expectations.
‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ Is a True Dystopian Film
Matt Reeves began his Planet of the Apes tenure with an inventive new approach to the material. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes takes place a decade after the events of the first film, where the Simian Flu has wiped out nearly all of humanity. The virus also elevated the intelligence of the apes, which allows them to be the dominant species.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Reeves sets the film’s apes in a believable world, despite its high concept. He performs an amazing hat trick by rooting the ape characters in fully developed emotional situations. This is also thanks in part to Andy Serkis, who voiced and did the motion capture for the leader of the Apes, Caesar.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apesis an inherently anti-war story, which rests on Caesar’s shoulders. While the apes have no interest in interacting with the human population after everything people have done to the animals in the past, Caesar does not want to start a war. When a human family crosses their path in an attempt to access a dam, Caesar agrees to their terms.
The trust is only broken when humans bring weapons into the encampment, despite both sides having agreed not to. Caesar sees history repeating itself with the lies and violence that humans bring with them in every situation. The events of the film escalate as both sides fear the war that the other might bring.
Through it all, Caesar maintains that there is strength through unity. Reeves’ work in the Apes sci-fi franchise can be summed up with the phrase: “Apes together strong.” Caesar consistently uses this as a rallying call that unites many in his camp. This applies to the apes who want to find a peaceful resolution. He doesn’t want to fall into the warmongering ways that humans have taught them through the torture of their species.
Reeves brings a sensitive and emotional throughline in everything he does. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a genuinely engaging story that strikes at the heart of what it means to be human — even when the most prominent characters are apes. There is no question as to why he was the correct person to turn to for a new perspective on the Batman franchise. Batman Part II may still be some time away, but exploring Reeves’ previous films is never a bad idea.
