'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes' spoilers! Here's what the ending really means

Spoiler alert! We're discussing important plot points and the ending of “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” (in theaters now), so swing to another treetop if you haven’t seen it yet.

The original "Planet of the Apes" movie rocked audiences in 1968 with its combination of astounding makeup and shocking ending. Astronaut George Taylor (Charlton Heston), free of his ape tormentors and on a horseback trek along a beach, comes across the vestiges of the Statue of Liberty.

Thinking he had landed on a distant planet, Taylor suddenly is confronted with the grim reality that he's actually journeyed to a future Earth decimated by warmongering humans. "You maniacs!" he screams. "You blew it up!"

After eight follow-up films − including a recent reboot trilogy that wrapped in 2017 − comes "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes," with final scenes that seem poised to launch a new series.

Set generations after the death of Caesar, the simian leader in the rebooted trilogy, "Kingdom" features a brave but naive ape, Noa (Owen Teague), who befriends an intrepid human, Mae (Freya Allan). Their intertwined journeys culminate in an intriguing ending about which the actors and director Wes Ball offer cryptic comments.

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What happens in the ending of 'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes'?

Noa lives in the blissful world of the Eagle Clan of chimps, who have made their home in overgrown utility pole towers. But that bliss comes to an end when his camp is overrun by aggressive apes from a nearby valley who like to hunt humans − who are now feral, non-verbal beasts − for sport.

In one such invasion, the apes capture both Noa and Mae, who we later learn has retained the ability to speak. The two of them are brought to a chimpanzee labor camp, where they learn to trust each other. Mae reveals that a cave the evil apes are trying to break into contains important technology that can help her reconnect with other sentient humans.

The duo succeed in their mission, allowing Noa to rebuild his clan and Mae to deliver a critical computer cartridge to a group of humans who live in a bunker filled with satellite technology. In the final scene of the movie, Mae is with these scientists, all clearly survivors of the human-dominated Earth, who reboot radio telescopes and make voice contact with other humans. Noa meanwhile is shown taking his close friend Anaya to an abandoned telescope and she peers through the lens. What does Anaya see in space?

The screen suddenly fades to black.

Is the planet Noa and Anaya are looking at through the telescope Earth?

It's tempting to think that the twist here is that the apes no longer live on Earth, and that the humans on this planet are using a radio telescope to connect with people back on our blue marble.

But no, the action takes place on Earth. The giveaways are found not just in the various overgrown buildings and streets seen in the film, but in the specificity of one shot that features the remnants of the parabolic arches that define the center of Los Angeles International Airport.

"Imagine that, if we weren't told (as actors) that we are all actually on Mars," Allan says with a laugh. "But no, my character has maps of towns." Addes Teague: "We're all in LA."

So what planet are the chimps looking at through the telescope at the end of 'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes'?

Earlier in the movie, Noa comes across a huge abandoned telescope and peers through its small eyepiece and is startled by what he sees. But we don't know what it is. At the end of the movie, he feels compelled to bring his friend to see for herself.

The decision to fade to black instead of revealing what the two see was an easy one for Ball. "I figured there is nothing I could show you that would be stronger than what the audience's imagination would conjure up," he says. "Sure, it might turn some people off, but some people will like it. I have ideas of what they're looking at."

Mars, maybe? Ball laughs. "Right, they're looking at (SpaceX founder) Elon Musk flying around on his Falcon 9 rocket," he says. "But I'll just say this. Space obviously is a key idea in all of these movies. So, maybe it's them looking to the future?"