Caesar Tell your Colonel you have seen me now. And I have a message for him: Leave us the woods, and the killing can stop.
Most-quoted character in War for the Planet of the Apes (2017): in 19 of its 32 quotes
Most scenes with: Maurice (5), The Colonel (2)
There were only two of you, but we are many. Apes, together, strong.
More lines from Caesar
6 quotes Caesar Caesar My son... my wife.... are dead.
Caesar It was a mistake bringing you all. This is my fight. I will finish this alone.
Caesar LEAVE HIM!
Caesar What did the Colonel promise you? You really think he'll let you live after we're gone? You let them call you "donkey". You are ape.
Caesar Maurice was right. I am... like Koba. He could not escape his hate. And I still cannot escape mine.
Scenes with Caesar
12 scenes
Travis
Just kill us already.
Lang
Shut up, man!
Travis
What? They're animals. He's gonna slaughter us.
Caesar I did not start this war. The ape who did is dead. His name was Koba. I killed him. Now I fight only to protect apes.
Do you think they will give him the message?
Caesar They are the message, Maurice. He will see we are not savages.
Caesar Koba still haunts us. Why didn't I see that he could not forgive what humans did to him?
No one could have known how much darkness... was living inside him.
She'll die out here alone.
Caesar We cannot take her, Maurice.
I understand... But I cannot leave her.
I see you look at her just now. Look sad. You have child?
Caesar One. The other was killed by human.
Soldier?
Caesar They must pay.
Now... you sound like Koba.
Grant...and Lee. Wellington...and Napoleon. Custer and Sitting Bull... You're probably not much of a reader, but this is a big moment. Where were you? We came upon your herd. We got lucky. I was surprised you weren't with them.
Preacher
[Caesar charges menacingly toward him -- but is instantly yanked back hard. Preacher levels his crossbow.]
Hey! Hey! Hey!
[Caesar reaches for his throat to discover his wrists are shackled and his neck is chained by a neck collar... Writhing, he turns to see Red cruelly gripping the end of the chain.]
I hope you don't come to regret sparing his life. He's quite a good shot. Have you finally come to save your apes?
Caesar I came for you.
For me? Who did I kill that night?
Caesar My wife. My son.
I'm sorry. I was there for you. My God. Look at your eyes. Almost human.
Caesar Lake.
Lake
[via sign language]
Forgive them. We've been through much.
Cornelius
[signs]
Father!
Caesar What have I done?
Caesar I think you have no mercy.
You came here to kill me. Were you going to show me mercy?
Caesar I showed you mercy when I spared your men. I offered you peace and you killed my family.
Mercy. Do you have any idea what your mercy would do to us? You're much stronger than we are. You're smart as hell. No matter what you say, you'd eventually replace us. That's the law of Nature. The irony is, we created you. We tried to defy Nature, bend it to our will. Nature has been punishing us for our arrogance ever since. Ten months ago, I sent out recon units to look for your base. My own son was a soldier with one of the units. One day, he suddenly stopped speaking. He became primitive, like an animal. They contacted me and said that they thought he'd lost his mind, that the war was too much for him. Then the man who cared for him stopped speaking too. Their medic had a theory, before he stopped speaking, that the virus that almost wiped us out, the virus that every human survivor still carries, had suddenly changed. Mutated. And that, if it spread, it would destroy humanity for good this time. Not by killing us, but by robbing us of those things that make us human. Our speech, our higher thinking. It would turn us into beasts. You talk about mercy? What would you have done? It was a moment of clarity for me. I realized that I would have to sacrifice my only son, so that humanity could be saved. I held that gun in my hand for a long time... And I pointed it at my only child. He looked at me with trust in his eyes. Even in his primitive gaze, I felt his... love. I pulled the trigger. It purified me. It made my purpose clear. I gave orders to kill the others infected, all of them. Burn their belongings, anything that might spread contamination. Some of the men questioned my judgment. I was asking them to do what I had done, to sacrifice their friends, their family. Of course, they refused. I had them killed too. Others with children deserted into the woods. One of those cowards fled to my superiors up north. They tried to convince me that this plague could be dealt with medically. Thats when I realized that they had learned nothing from our past.
Caesar You killed them too?
What did I do, Preacher?
Preacher
You severed their heads, sir.
Except for the one I spared so he could return and deliver a message. If they wanted to relieve me of my command, they'd have to meet me here, and do it themselves. This used to be a weapons depot. They turned it into a relocation camp when the crisis was just beginning. But the weapons are all still here, inside the mountain.
Caesar How many men will be coming?
Probably all of them. But don't get any ideas, the only thing they fear more than me is you apes. This is a holy war. All of human history has led to this moment. If we lose, we'll be the last of our kind. It will be a planet of apes, and we'II become your cattle. Look at you. You think I am sick, don't you? I didn't mean to kill your son. But if his destiny was to inherit your unholy kingdom... I am glad I did.
[Caesar lashes, only to be restrained]
So emotional! I see how conflicted you are. You are confused in your purpose. You're angry at me for something I did that was an act of war. But you're taking this all much far too personally. What do you think my men would have done to your apes, if you had killed me? Or is killing me more important?
Caesar Koba...
Koba
Sleep. You cannot save them. Apes all die here.
Caesar No!
Koba
Yes. Join me.
Red Donkey
You know... Colonel shoot apes when wall's done.
Caesar His wall is... madness. It won't save him, anymore than it will save you.
Red Donkey
I save myself.
Caesar Is there anything left of you to save?
Caesar Don't worry, Maurice. You are all home now. Apes are strong... With or without me.
