War for the Planet of the Apes broader inspirations from films like "The Bridge on the River Kwai" and "The Great Escape". Feeling that there was a need to imbue Biblical themes and elements, they also watched Biblical epics like "Ben-Hur" and "The Ten Commandments". The influences and inspirations were made evident in the relationship between Caesar and Woody Harrelson's Colonel, a military leader with pretensions toward godhood. Reeves has compared their relationship to the dynamic between Alec Guinness's British Commander and Sessue Hayakawa's prison camp Colonel in "Bridge on the River Kwai". Another comparison is in Caesar's journey to find the Colonel, flanked by a posse
The Bridge over the River Kwai was based on his experience with some French officers. However, he chose instead to use British officers in his book. The story describes the mistreatment of prisoners in the POW camp and how they tried to sabotage the construction of the bridge. Lt. Colonel Nicholson marches his men into Prisoner of War Camp 16, commanded by Colonel Saito. Saito announces that the prisoners will be required to work on construction of a bridge over the River Kwai so that the railroad connection between Bangkok and Rangoon can be completed. However, Saito also demands that all men, including officers, will do