Amiah Miller plays Nova in 'War for the Planets of the Apes.' (Photo : YouTube/20th Century Fox)
"War for the Planet of the Apes" is will have a strong connection to the original series from 1968 and 19070. Just like the original movies there will be a young mute girl named Nova and she can be seen briefly in the recently released trailer.
Nova is shown in the trailer embracing Maurice the Orangutan (Karin Konoval) and is shown riding a horse as Caesar (Andy Serkis) stares straight at her. In the original films she was portrayed by Linda Harrison and in this iteration the character is portrayed by Amiah Miller.
"The battle is not just between the humans and the apes, but in Caesar's soul," director Matt Reeves explained in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "The girl is his pull back to his empathy and - for lack of a better word - his human side."
This will be the first major connection tying the new film series with the original. Previous references to the original series were minor Easter eggs such as the mention of the Icarus spacecraft back in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes."
Reeves also pointed out in a commentary with IGN regarding the first trailer that Caesar initially did not want to bring Nova along with him. Maurice points out that the girl would not survive alone and Caesar cannot stop Maurice from bringing her with their group.
According to Reeves, Nova plays a critical role in the movie and that she has a "giant mystery" for Caesar and Maurice to unravel. Maurice is also reportedly puzzled by her inability to speak and how she may reveal what is really going on with the humans.
Nova, in the original films, was the romantic partner for the main hero Taylor (Charlton Heston). Her character was first introduced in "Planet of the Apes" and then perished in the second film, "Beneath the Planet of the Apes."
"War for the Planet of the Apes" releases on July 17, 2017. The official trailer can be viewed below:
