The name "Nova" carries a weird amount of weight in the Apes universe. It’s not just a name. It’s a bridge. When we first saw Linda Harrison playing the character in the 1968 original, she was this striking, mute symbol of human regression. She was basically a pet to Charlton Heston’s Taylor. Fast forward decades later, and the name reappears in the Caesar trilogy and the newest Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. But here’s the thing: Nova Planet of the Apes isn't just one person, and the way the franchise uses this name tells us everything about how the writers view the fate of humanity.
Names matter. In the 2017 film War for the Planet of the Apes, we meet a young girl played by Amiah Miller. She can't speak. She’s infected with the mutated Simian Flu. Maurice, the orangutan who basically serves as the moral compass of the series, gives her a Chevy Nova emblem. That’s her name. It’s a sweet, almost accidental tribute to the '68 film, but it also signals a terrifying shift in the narrative.
Humans are losing.
The Evolution of the Nova Identity
In the 1960s, Nova was a "primitive." She represented the end of the line for Homo sapiens. If you watch those early films, there is no hope for her. She is a biological remnant. But when we look at Nova Planet of the Apes through the lens of the modern prequels, she becomes a symbol of empathy rather than just a silent witness to history.
The 2017 version of the character wasn't born primitive. She was made that way by a virus. This is a massive distinction that often gets lost in fan theories. The original Nova was part of a species that had naturally—or unnaturally—devolved over two thousand years. The Nova in the Caesar era is a victim of a biological plague that strips away speech and higher cognitive function. It’s more tragic. It's personal.
Think about the scene where Maurice gives her the doll. Or when she wanders into the ape camp. It’s silent. It’s tense. You’re waiting for the violence, but it doesn't come from the apes. It comes from the humans. The Colonel, played by Woody Harrelson, sees her as a "thing" that needs to be purged. Caesar sees her as a life. That's the flip. The apes become more "human" by protecting her, while the actual humans become monsters by trying to erase her.
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Is Mae the New Nova?
When Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024) was announced, everyone assumed Freya Allan’s character, Mae, would be the "new" Nova. People were searching for Nova Planet of the Apes connections before the first trailer even dropped. But the movie does something way smarter. It plays with our expectations.
Mae is not Nova. Not really.
Mae can talk. She’s smart. She’s calculating. She’s arguably more dangerous than any of the apes because she has an agenda. In the movie, the apes call all primitive humans "Nova." It’s become a derogatory catch-all term. It’s their word for "beast" or "scavenger." When Proximus Caesar and his followers refer to humans, they aren't looking for a girl named Nova; they are looking at a species they believe is beneath them.
This creates a fascinating dynamic. You have Mae, who is hiding her intelligence, pretending to be a "Nova" to survive. It’s a survival tactic. It’s deceptive. This completely recontextualizes the 1968 film. Was the original Nova truly primitive, or was she just a product of a culture that had been so oppressed it forgot how to be anything else?
The Science of De-evolution in the Apes Universe
Let's talk about the Simian Flu. It’s the ALZ-113 strain. In Rise of the Planet of the Apes, it makes apes geniuses. In humans? It’s a death sentence. But then it mutates. By the time we get to the heart of the Nova Planet of the Apes lore, the virus doesn't kill you anymore. It just takes your voice.
- It attacks the Broca’s area of the brain.
- It causes a loss of higher-order reasoning.
- It effectively turns humans into "animals."
Biologically, this is a nightmare. Honestly, it’s one of the scariest tropes in sci-fi because it isn't about being replaced by robots; it’s about losing the one thing that makes us us. Speech. Communication. When Maurice looks at Nova and realizes she can't speak, he realizes the world has changed forever. The "Ape" planet isn't a place where humans were conquered by swords; they were conquered by a microscopic strand of RNA.
Why the Name Persists
Why keep using the name? From a production standpoint, it’s fanservice. It keeps the legacy alive. But narratively, it functions as a "fixed point" in time. Whether it’s 1968 or 2024, Nova is the constant. She is the baseline for human-ape relations.
In the original timeline, Nova was a blank slate. In the current timeline, she is the catalyst for Caesar’s final act of mercy. He refuses to kill the humans because he sees the innocence in her. If you remove Nova from the equation, Caesar likely loses his soul during the war against the Colonel. She is his tether to the "good" parts of his father, Will Rodman.
Common Misconceptions About Nova
People often think Nova is the ancestor of the humans in the 1968 film. That doesn't really work with the timeline. The "Caesar" films are a reboot-prequel hybrid. They don't lead directly into the Charlton Heston movie without some serious mental gymnastics.
Another big mistake? Thinking Nova is the only human who survived the original plague. There are pockets of humans everywhere. We see this in Kingdom. Some are feral, living like deer in the woods. Others are hiding in bunkers, clutching onto the last bits of technology. The name Nova Planet of the Apes actually refers to a specific type of human existence—the ones who have "given up" their humanity to survive in the new world.
It's sorta like how we use "Neanderthal" as an insult today. In the world of the apes, "Nova" is the term for a human who has lost their spark.
The Cultural Impact of the Character
Linda Harrison’s portrayal was revolutionary for the time because it required zero dialogue. She had to convey fear, curiosity, and love through her eyes. Amiah Miller had to do the same thing fifty years later. It’s a masterclass in non-verbal acting.
When you look at the box office and the critical reception of these films, the "human" element is always what anchors the spectacle. We come for the CGI apes, but we stay because we're terrified of becoming Nova. We’re terrified of the silence.
What’s Next for the Human Faction?
With the success of Kingdom, the story isn't over. We know that the humans in the bunkers are trying to reconnect. They want their planet back. But the "Novas" in the wild? They are the ones who will actually inherit the earth alongside the apes.
The struggle in future movies will likely be between the "Bunker Humans" and the "Wild Humans" (the Novas). One group wants to restore the old world, which means war. The other group has found a way to live in the new world. If you're an ape, who do you trust? You trust the one who can't lie to you. You trust the one who doesn't have a hidden radio and a satellite dish.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Creators
If you’re trying to understand the deep lore of Nova Planet of the Apes, don't just watch the movies in order. Watch them as mirrors of each other.
- Compare the "Pet" Dynamic: Look at how Taylor treats Nova in 1968 versus how Maurice treats her in 2017. One is possessive; the other is protective. It shows how our own views on "nature" and "animals" have shifted in the real world.
- Track the Virus: Pay attention to the physical cues of the humans in the background. The loss of speech isn't just about vocal cords; it's about a loss of identity.
- Analyze the Ending of Kingdom: When Mae leaves Noa at the end, she isn't just a girl walking away. She is the rejection of the "Nova" label. She chooses to be a human, for better or worse, which inevitably leads to conflict.
The franchise has moved past the simple "Ape vs. Human" trope. It’s now about "Language vs. Silence." Nova represents the silence. And in a world where everyone is screaming for power, maybe the silence is the only place left where peace actually exists.
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To really grasp this, re-watch the original Planet of the Apes immediately after War for the Planet of the Apes. The contrast is jarring. It makes you realize that the tragedy isn't that the apes won. The tragedy is that we stopped being able to tell them our side of the story.
If you want to keep up with how the timeline is shifting, keep a close eye on the "silent" characters in the next film. They are usually the ones carrying the biggest thematic weight. The next "Nova" might not even be a girl—it could be an entire civilization that has chosen to stop talking to survive.
To deepen your understanding of the franchise's trajectory, focus on the distinction between Mae and the feral humans. The conflict in the next chapter will hinge on whether humans can coexist with apes without the shield of technology. Study the environmental storytelling in the "Forbidden Zone" scenes of the original films; they often mirror the overgrown cities in the modern trilogy, suggesting that the "Nova" state is the inevitable destination for humanity in this universe. Look for the subtle ways the apes adopt human flaws—greed, tribalism, and history-erasing—while the Novas retain the very innocence the apes are losing. This inversion is the heart of the series.