Planet of the Apes has ten live-action movies across nearly sixty years, three separate timelines, and one of the most famous twist endings in film history

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Planet of the Apes (1968) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers

The Whatfinger News crew are made up of 100% science fiction fans. All of us love Planet of the Apes. If you love it too… this will help you explore them all. Start with the modern Caesar saga if you want the cleanest, strongest stretch. Save the 1968 original and its sequels for the classic reveals. Treat Tim Burton’s 2001 version as a one-off curiosity.

The franchise began with Pierre Boulle’s 1963 novel and exploded with the 1968 film. Charlton Heston as astronaut George Taylor delivered the line that stuck: “Get your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape.” The ending revealed the Statue of Liberty buried in the sand. That single shot locked the series into pop culture. It made money, spawned sequels, a TV series, an animated show, and endless merchandise. Makeup effects set a standard that held for decades.

Best order for readers

The timelines do not line up cleanly. The original five films form a closed time-travel loop. The 2011–2024 films are a reboot with their own continuity, even if they nod to the older ones. Burton’s 2001 film sits alone.

For most people the smart path is this:

• Modern Caesar saga first (linear story, strong performances, better effects).
• Original series in release order next (preserves the twists the audience experienced in 1968–1973).
• Burton 2001 last or skip.

YouTube videos that walk the full timeline (including the long “Complete Planet of the Apes Story & Timeline Explained” pieces) are useful once you have seen the films. They map the centuries of ape history without spoiling the first viewing.

Planet of the Apes (1968): The Deleted Scene Revealed What Taylor Left Behind in the Forbidden Zone

Modern reboot (chronological order = release order)

These four films track Caesar from lab chimp to legend and then jump generations ahead. Andy Serkis’s motion-capture work as Caesar carried the first three. The fourth moves to a new generation of apes.

1. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) — Scientist Will Rodman (James Franco) tests an Alzheimer’s drug on chimps. One infant, Caesar, gains intelligence. The film ends with the first spoken words from an ape and the start of the Simian Flu that will devastate humanity.
2. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) — Ten years later. Caesar leads a colony in the redwoods near San Francisco. A small group of human survivors wants to restart a hydroelectric dam. Trust collapses. Matt Reeves directs. Many viewers rank this as the high point of the modern run.
3. War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) — Open conflict. Caesar hunts the human colonel (Woody Harrelson) who has turned the flu into a weapon that destroys speech. The film is grim and focused. It closes Caesar’s story.
4. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024) — Several hundred years later. Ape society has fractured. Young chimpanzee Noa (Owen Teague) leaves his Eagle Clan and encounters Proximus Caesar, who twists the old leader’s words for power. Humans are mostly mute scavengers again. Wes Ball directs.

Planet of the Apes: The Banned Ending They Hide For 60 Years

HBO Max added the four modern films in early November 2026, so they are easy to run back-to-back right now.

Original saga (recommended release order)

Watch these in the order they hit theaters. The time-travel elements only make sense after you know the later reveals.

1. Planet of the Apes (1968) — Taylor and his crew crash on a planet ruled by intelligent apes. Humans are mute and hunted. The final beach scene is the one everyone knows. Rotten Tomatoes still sits around 86%.
2. Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) — Another astronaut arrives. The story goes underground to a cult of mutated humans who worship a doomsday bomb. Darker and stranger than the first film.
3. Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) — Cornelius, Zira, and Dr. Milo flee the doomed planet in Taylor’s ship and arrive in 1973 Earth. The tone lightens, then turns tragic.
4. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) — Their son Caesar grows up in a future where apes are pets and slaves. He leads the revolt. Roddy McDowall carries the performance.
5. Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) — A fragile peace between apes and remaining humans after nuclear war. A gorilla faction pushes for more violence.

Sometimes when I see the Democrat animals unleashed all over America, in their planned riots, I think of Planet of the Apes. Maybe you’ve done the same.  If the Democrats succeed in their goals, well, this scene comes to mind at times as we all, here at Whatfinger, truly believe they will end Western Civilization and bring a new dark age to all mankind.

Planet of the Apes (5/5) Movie CLIP – Statue of Liberty (1968) HD

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The original made roughly $33 million domestic on a $5.8 million budget and launched Hollywood’s first true sci-fi franchise machine. Makeup work by John Chambers set the look that lasted until digital effects took over.

The 2001 Burton film

Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes starred Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, and Paul Giamatti. The makeup was excellent. The story and ending left most audiences cold. It does not connect to either main timeline. Watch it once if you are completing the set; otherwise it is optional.

Every Secret You Didn’t Catch in Planet of the Apes (1968)

What still works

The original series sold a bleak view of human nature and nuclear fear that landed in the middle of the late-1960s. The modern films shifted the focus to Caesar’s leadership and the slow collapse of human civilization through a virus. Fans on X still rank the 1968 film and Dawn near the top. People continue to discover Rise for the first time and note how quickly the story turns once Caesar is separated from the humans who raised him.

The franchise never really died. It just changed tools—from foam rubber and latex to performance-capture and CGI—while keeping the same core idea: what happens when the species that thinks it is in charge loses control. For a clean modern entry point, start with Rise. For the classic punch, begin with Heston on the beach. Either way the damned dirty apes are still talking.

—- The Whatfinger News Team: Beth and Luke, with Grok on edits and graphics