Key Takeaways

• Will Rodman has not physically appeared since ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes.’
• However, he has been mentioned several times in the ‘Planet of the Apes franchise.
• Will Rodman might not appear on the screens again.

James Franco’s portrayal of Will Rodman, the lead ‘human’ character in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, left an undeniable mark.

Nonetheless, after that, he never made it to any other film in the franchise, although he has been mentioned several times.

One instance was in the prequel novel ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Firestorm,’ which details the events between ‘Rise‘ and ‘Dawn.’

In the book, as mentioned, Koba went to a flashback to when he was experimented on by Will and his team with ALZ-113, the ‘so-called‘ Alzheimer’s disease cure.

Then, we heard a little of Will when Ceaser went down memory lane, wondering what Will and Caroline Aranha (girlfriend) might be doing since he was not a part of their lives.

Likewise, in the film, ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,’ Will was indirectly mentioned a couple of times during conversations of the apes.

The first time was when Maurice (orangutan) asked Caesar if he missed the humans while talking about the birth of Caesar’s youngest child.

This indirectly hinted towards Caesar’s childhood days when Will brought him up.

Then, in the forest, Will became a topic of discussion when Ellie said that a scientist developed the Simian Flu.

However, whether she knew that Will had created that virus is unknown.

Another possible mention was when Caesar asked the humans to leave after he found out that Carver, one of the humans, possessed a gun.

Malcolm then came to the rescue and told Caesar that not all humans were like Carver.

This statement hit him hard and might have resonated with him because Will treated him as his own child.

So, Will has been in conversations in the franchise here and there, but he has not appeared physically.

And it seems like this is how it will go; Will might not appear on the screens again.

As per Ted Gagliano, Fox’s president of postproduction, he hinted that Will died after a lab virus was released.

The statement seemed accurate, as we saw a FEMA sign (indicating infected people inside) on the front door of Will’s house when Caesar headed for a hideout; this scene was from the second installment.

This made it apparently clear that Will might have died at home because of the virus.

FAQs

Why Isn’t James Franco in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes?

While James had a cameo in the movie, he didn’t permit it to be released on the screen because he was unaware of it.

What Happened To Will Rodman In Planet of the Apes?

Will Rodman, played by James, is said to have died because of the Simian Flu outbreak, as he was not immune to it like the other humans.