Based on the 1963 novel by French author Pierre Boulle, the beloved and influential science fiction film Planet of the Apes from 1968 launched a successful franchise that dominated the first half of the 1970s, spanning four more films, tie-in books, a live-action TV series, and even an animated series. The global struggle between sentient humanoids and intelligent apes sparked much fanfare and touched on a number of social issues, including racism, animal abuse, and the Cold War. It produces some of the greatest science fiction films ever made. (planet of the apes 2001 cast)
Although a reboot would not come along for thirty years, Tim Burton’s 2001 remake of the first film failed to bring the long-dead series back to life. 20th Century Fox wouldn’t experience success again until 2011’s reboot prequel Rise of the Planet of the Apes, with a whole new trilogy and a fourth in the series, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, currently scheduled for 2024.
Is it now feasible to travel through time in its entirety? Not quite, but we’ll try our best. Let’s look at how to watch the Planet of the Apes movies chronologically. This unsettling story, in which humans find themselves replaced by a rapidly evolving new species and struggle with subservience and subjugation, is worth watching.
How Many Movies Are There Based on Planet of the Apes?
The Planet of the Apes universe is the backdrop for nine films in all, counting the 1968 original and its four follow-ups. The three prequels, which show how the world fell to the apes, complete the nine, with the 2001 reboot making up the other six. In 2024, the tenth movie, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, will be released.
Movies of Planet of the Apes arranged chronologically | planet of the apes 2001 cast
The warning is that the three prequels that have come out in the last ten or so years have nothing to do with the original film series. They depict a completely reset timeline, presumably with a different future than the one that the astronaut played by Charlton Heston learns about in the 1968 movie. However, there’s no harm in continuing to watch them first.
01. The 2011’s film Rise of the Planet of the Apes
The Aughts saw a sharp increase in motion capture technology and digital character development, which allowed the Apes saga to transcend traditional makeup and enter a new realm of special effects that would allow the lead Apes to perform with greater emotion. Caesar is a chimpanzee whose intelligence is enhanced through science thanks to the extraordinary abilities that Gollum, played by Andy Serkis, bestowed upon him. Caesar serves as the focal point of a prequel narrative that centers on the beginnings of humanity’s demise. Set in the “present day,” Rise of the Planet of the Apes also stars Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, James Franco, and Brian Cox, sowing the seeds for a global conflict.
02. The 2014’s film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
The next two prequel films, directed by Matt Reeves of The Batman, feature Andy Serkis as Caesar and take place years after the Simian Flu decimated the human population of Earth and the intelligence apes established a colony near San Francisco. The first of these films is the excellent Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Alongside Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, and Toby Kebbell are the actors in this story about the first truce negotiations and peace attempts that go horribly wrong due to betrayal on both sides.
03.The 2017’s film War for the Planet of the Apes
In Matt Reeves’ War for the Planet of the Apes, the struggle between humans and apes has progressed beyond the point of no return, with Andy Serkis’s Caesar seeking revenge for the people he has lost. In this critically acclaimed conclusion to the Apes Caesar Trilogy, Woody Harrelson and Steve Zahn return to the franchise. While the original plan was to bring us directly to Planet of the Apes (as these are reboot prequels), the film made a healthy profit and, as a result, is required by Hollywood regulations to have a sequel, which is scheduled for release in 2024.
04. The 1968’s Planet of the Apes
One of the greatest twist endings in movie history can be found in the iconic science fiction film Planet of the Apes, which stars Charlton Heston as an adrift astronaut named George Taylor who awakens from deep cryosleep to find himself marooned on a planet populated by ape-like beings with human intelligence. A twist brought to us by Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling, the master of “gotcha!” endings, who added his own unique blend of shock and amazement to the original novel adaptation.
05. The 1970’s film Beneath the Planet of the Apes
In this 1970 follow-up Beneath the Planet of the Apes, starring James Franciscus as Brent, the astronaut who arrives on a mission to find the missing Taylor, Charlton Heston made a brief comeback. Brent finds himself in a new and hostile world where telepathic humans worship an antiquated nuclear weapon. He also has to stop the doomsday bomb from destroying everything. A respectable, if crazy, follow-up.
06. The 1971 film Escape From the Planet of the Apes
Three apes—Cornelius (Roddy McDowall), Zira (Kim Hunter), and Dr. Milo (Sal Mineo)—escape the events of the previous movie in a cruel bit of time-travel chaos and land in 1973 Earth, where they encounter the worst of human persecution. Before things get really dark, Escape From the Planet of the Apes is a more poignant and character-driven movie than its predecessors.
07. The 1972 film Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
In Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, Roddy McDowall makes a comeback to the franchise as Caesar, the intelligent ape son of Cornelius and Zira, who is out to lead a rebellion against humanity after a pandemic turns society into a fascist slave-owning society. Yes, this is the same Caesar that the reboot prequels focused on. You can argue whether the timeline we find ourselves in in Planet of the Apes is the same as the one George Taylor found himself in when he crashed landed in the future. Nevertheless, Conquest continues to be a bloody nightmare, with a full-scale ape uprising and humanity on the verge of extinction.
08. The 1973 film Battle for the Planet of the Apes
In the last film in the series, McDowall’s Caesar tries to maintain harmony between humans and apes after humans have been vanquished. However, uprisings occur, and the lesson is emphasized that those in positions of authority, whether human or not, eventually become corrupted by power. Battle for the Planet of the Apes, billed as The Final Chapter, ended the science fiction story that had started five years earlier, but it wasn’t well received by critics or viewers.
N/A. The 2001 film Planet of the Apes
Since Tim Burton’s reboot of Planet of the Apes doesn’t formally belong in any timeline, you can watch it whenever you want, but before you watch the remake, we suggest watching the 1968 original. In this film, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, Paul Giamatti, and Mark Wahlberg play errant astronauts. Although the characters are new and there’s even a fresh attempt at the traditional twist ending, the plot is similar to that of the original movie.