what happened to will in planet of the apes

In the reboot series, Will Rodman’s fate is never shown on screen, but everything points to him having died off‑screen from the Simian Flu between Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

What Happened to Will in Planet of the Apes?

Quick Answer

• Will Rodman (James Franco) is the scientist who raises Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

• He survives the end of Rise , but he is completely absent by Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

• Filmmakers and later explanations strongly imply he died in the Simian Flu pandemic that wipes out most of humanity.

How Rise Leaves Will

In Rise of the Planet of the Apes , Will creates the Alzheimer’s drug ALZ‑112 (and later ALZ‑113), which boosts intelligence in apes but becomes the basis of the deadly Simian Flu in humans.

At the end of Rise , he says an emotional goodbye to Caesar in the redwoods; Caesar chooses to stay with the apes rather than go “home” with Will.

Originally, the script actually had Will die in this ending, but the filmmakers changed it so that he lives through the events of Rise and the virus is shown spreading via an infected pilot in the credits.

This change let Will’s story “fade out” rather than end brutally on screen, while still allowing the pandemic storyline to continue.

Clues in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

By Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (set years later), Will is gone, and humanity has been decimated by Simian Flu.

Key on-screen hints:

• Caesar visits his old human home; the house is abandoned and marked with a big painted “X” like other condemned/infected homes.

• An old home video of Will, Caroline, and young Caesar plays on the TV, emphasizing that this is a memory and that era of Caesar’s life is over.

Fans and commentators interpret the “X” on the house as a visual sign that Will (and likely Caroline) were infected and died during the outbreak.

What the Creators Have Said

Even though the movies never say the words “Will is dead,” people involved with the franchise have openly explained the intended fate:

• Studio and production comments have stated that Will was never meant to continue past Rise , and that he was presumed to have died in the Simian Flu pandemic along with most humans.

• Producer Dylan Clark has described Will’s death as a kind of narrative “punishment” for his role in unleashing the virus, similar to a modern Dr. Frankenstein facing the consequences of his creation.

So within the story’s logic, Will doesn’t just vanish; he becomes one of the many unseen victims of the very catastrophe his work helped cause.

In-Universe vs. Fan/Forum Talk

On forums and fan discussions, people usually boil it down to:

“Yes, he died. The X on the house in Dawn means he was infected.”

This lines up with the filmmakers’ comments and the visual storytelling, even though no character says it out loud.

The end result: if you’re asking what happened to Will in Planet of the Apes , the most widely accepted and creator-backed answer is that he died off- screen from the Simian Flu sometime between Rise and Dawn.

TL;DR: Will Rodman survives Rise but is gone by Dawn ; visual clues and creator comments make it clear he almost certainly died in the Simian Flu outbreak he unintentionally helped create.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.