Movies - TV
Making Sense Of The Planet Of The Apes Franchise Timeline
By JEREMY MATHAI
The “Planet of the Apes” franchise has been going since the original 1968 film. The nine movies tell complex stories, but the timeline can be made sense of.
In the 1968 original “Planet of the Apes,” astronauts that launch from Earth in 1972 return after 2,000 years to find a desecrated Earth now ruled by intelligent apes.
“Beneath the Planet of the Apes” (1970) picks up where the first movie left off. A conflict between the apes and mutant humans leads to the planet being destroyed.
In “Escape from the Planet of the Apes” (1971), before the detonation of Earth, a few ape characters travel back in time to 1973 and have a baby named Caesar before being killed.
“Conquest of the Planet of the Apes” (1972) picks up in 1991 and sees Caesar become a revolutionary leader in a world where primates are slaves.
“Battle for the Planet of the Apes” (1973) serves as the original saga's conclusion by wrapping up Caesar's story in the early 21st Century.
A reboot of the series, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” (2011), is a retelling of Caesar's ascent as a revolutionary. The Simian Flu weakens humanity and allows apes to take over.
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” (2014) and “War for the Planet of the Apes” (2017) shows two instances of Caesar’s ape society clashing with the remnants of humanity.
The yet to be released “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” (2024), occurs 300 years after “War” and shows the apes living in ramshackled cities and speaking English.