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Every Planet of The Apes Movie (In Release Order)

in what order should i watch the planet of the apes movies

Planet of the Apes is one of the most popular science fiction American franchises that tells the tale of the fight for survival between humans and intelligent apes.

Planet of the Apes series is more fun and thrilling if you watch them in chronological order. Here is the list of all Planet Of The Apes Movies in order of chronology

  • Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
  • Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
  • War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)
  • Planet of the Apes (1968)
  • Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
  • Escape from Planet of the Apes (1971)
  • Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
  • Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)

About Planet of The Apes Movie Series

The Planet of the Apes franchise is inspired by French author Pierre Boulle’s 1963 novel La Planète des singes(Planet of The Apes).

The first installment in the series was released in 1968, and the movie was a massive hit at the box office.

The first Planet of the Apes movie is still famous for the statue of liberty scene. After a massive success of the first film, the franchise is still running with five original movies, one remake, and a remake trilogy, making the franchise one of the longest-running franchises of all time.

What order do the Planet of the Apes films go in?

Planet of The Apes Movies In Order: What Is The Correct Order For Ape?

Planet of the Apes series starts when astronauts reach a desolated planet when their spacecraft crashes while exploring the universe. They learn that Apes rule the planet. Further, they are shocked to know that it’s the earth on which Apes are leading.

The nine movie franchise explores the complete story of the fight for survival between Apes, humans, and a third species of mutant human beings who live underground.

Are Planet of The Apes Movies Connected?

There is nine Planet of the Apes movies that tell the story from how Apes became intelligent to the world’s final destruction due to the rivalry between humans, mutant, and Apes. Yes! all the movies are connected and catch the story from the end of the previous film.

Do You Need To Watch Planet Of The Apes Movies Order?

Planet of the Apes story is very complex, and many films are prequels. The series involves many jumps and time travels. Besides, the series has an original series, a remake series, and a movie. To correctly understand and catch up with the story and characters, this is important to watch Planet of the Apes movies in order.

What order do the Planet of the Apes films go in?

There are two orders to watch Planet of the Apes, The chronological and release order. You can follow any of the two orders, but watching the Planet of the apes series in chronological order will let you understand and follow the story from origin to the world’s final destruction.

Here is the list of all Planet of the Apes movies in chronological order, aka the best order to watch the Planet of the Apes films.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

  • Director: Rupert Wyatt 
  • Stars: James Franco, Andy Serkis, Freida Pinto, Karin Konoval
  • Writers: Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
  • Runtime: 1h 45min

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

  • Director: Matt Reeves 
  • Stars: Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Andy Serkis, Kodi Smit-McPhee
  • Writers: Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa
  • Runtime:  2h 10min

War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)

  • Director: Matt Reeves 
  • Stars: Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, Karin Konoval
  • Writers: Mark Bomback, Matt Reeves
  • Runtime: 2h 20min

Planet of the Apes (1968)

  • Director: Franklin J. Schaffner 
  • Stars: Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans
  • Writers: Michael Wilson
  • Runtime: 1h 52min

Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

  • Director: Ted Post 
  • Stars: James Franciscus, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, Linda Harrison
  • Writers: Paul Dehn
  • Runtime: 1h 35min

Escape from Planet of the Apes (1971)

  • Director: Don Taylor 
  • Stars: Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman, Natalie Trundy
  • Writers: Paul Dehn, Pierre Boulle
  • Runtime: 1h 38min

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)

  • Director: J. Lee Thompson 
  • Stars: Roddy McDowall, Don Murray, Ricardo Montalban, Natalie Trundy
  • Writers: Paul Dehn, Pierre Boulle
  • Runtime: 1h 28min

Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)

  • Director: J. Lee Thompson 
  • Stars: Roddy McDowall, Claude Akins, Natalie Trundy, Severn Darden
  • Writers: Pierre Boulle
  • Runtime: 1h 26min
A still from Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011). it is the first movie on the list of all Planet of the Apes movies in chronological order
Edited Still from Rise of the Planet of the Apes | All credit goes to 20th Century Studios

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

The movie starts with Will Rodman, a scientist experimenting to find a cure for Alzheimer’s. To test his drug ALZ 112, Will gives it to a Chimpanzee named bright eye. The drug reacts and increases the Bright Eye’s Intelligence level, but the Bright Eye gets killed while she creates a rampage. Before dying, a bright eye gives birth to her child, baby apes.

Rodman decides to take the baby home to take care of him and gives names him Caesar. Caesar inherits intelligence from his mother and becomes uncontrollable. Hence Rodman decides to bring Caesar to primate shelter. Caesar learns to unlock the door and gain free access to the common area.

Using ALZ 113, Caesar increases other Apes’ intelligence, which results in a battle between intelligent Apes and humans.

A still from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014). it is the second movie on the list of all Planet of the Apes movies in chronological order
Edited Still from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes | All credit goes to 20th Century Studios

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

The movie continues the story after ten years of deadly Simian Flu. Only a few humans immune to the virus are left, while Apes have started to build their civilization. Carver, a man in the wood, wound Ash, Ape friend of Blue eyes (Caesar’s child). In Return, Caesar goes to the Human community in San Francisco and deals with humans to stay in their territory.

Jealous with Caesar working together with Human, Koba (another Apes) shouts at Caesar and plots against him. Koba kills all the Apes who are on the side of Caesar and Attacks human civilization. Meanwhile, Malcolm’s family saves Caesar.

A still from War for the Planet of the Apes (2017). it is the third movie on the list of all Planet of the Apes movies in chronological order
Edited Still from War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) | All credit goes to 20th Century Studios

War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)

The movie continues the story after two years of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Caesar still leads the Apes community. Meanwhile, a group of elite soldiers led by Colonel J. Wesley McCullough is hunting Apes.

Caesar never wanted a War, but when Colonel J. Wesley kills his wife and son, he decides to go alone to kill him. Finally, Caesar demands free all the Apes captured and makes a deal that Apes and humans will live separately without infiltrating Territory.

A still from Planet of the Apes (1968). it is the fourth movie on the list of all Planet of the Apes movies in chronological order
Edited Still from Planet of the Apes (1968) | All credit goes to 20th Century Studios

Planet of the Apes (1968)

While exploring the universe with the speed of light, a spaceship of some Astronauts crashes on a desolated planet. Astronauts explore the Planet for days and finally learn that Apes rule the Planet while humans are mute and depend on Apes for food.

While exploring for food, Taylor (one of the scientists) gets caught by Apes and starts to perform experiments on Taylor. After recovering, Taylor starts to talk with Dr. Zira and explains about Earth and how they end up here.

A still from Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970). it is the fifth movie on the list of all Planet of the Apes movies in chronological order
Edited Still from Beneath the Planet of the Apes | All credit goes to 20th Century Studios

Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

This movie is a direct sequel to Planet of the Apes.” Brent is the only survivor of the ship sent to find the three astronauts. The ship lands in the Forbidden Zone and where Brent meets Nova. Together they go back to Apes city to meet Dr Zira.

In the Forbidden Zone, Brent finds a passage that leads him to New York City’s subways, where he is shocked to learn about the presence of a mutated race of humans. A battle breaks out between Apes, mutants, and Human and to end all this, Taylor activates the nuclear bomb that turns the entire earth into a post-apocalyptic world.

A still from Escape from Planet of the Apes (1971). it is the sixth movie on the list of all Planet of the Apes movies in chronological order
Edited Still from Escape from Planet of the Apes | All credit goes to 20th Century Studios

Escape from Planet of the Apes (1971)

Before Taylor activated the doomsday device, Zara and her husband locates and repairs the spaceships using which the four astronauts came to the planet of apes Originally. Using the ship, three apes Zira, Cornelius, and Milo, traveled back in 1973.

All the three Apes are brought to a Zoo in Los Angeles and studied for their intelligence. Meanwhile, Milo gets killed by a gorilla nearby. Zira and Cornelius start to live happy life. But according to government scientist Hassling, Apes are a threat to humanity and should to eliminated.

A still from Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972). it is the seventh movie on the list of all Planet of the Apes movies in chronological order
Edited Still from Conquest of the Planet of the Apes | All credit goes to 20th Century Studios

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)

The baby Ape has grown up and is raised by Armando, a circus owner who has renamed the baby Caesar. Caesar is living in a world where, because of the plague, cats and dogs have vanished, and Apes are new pets and salves of human beings.

Caesar works with Armando in Circus and is the only Ape that can talk. While going through Town, Caesar yells at a human when he witnesses the condition of Apes. It leads to everyone realizing that Caesar is not like any other Apes. Now Government is behind Armando, thinking Caesar is the child of Zira and Cornelius, the grown-up Milo and a threat to humanity.

A still from Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973). it is the eighth movie on the list of all Planet of the Apes movies in chronological order
Edited Still from Battle for the Planet of the Apes | All credit goes to 20th Century Studios

Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)

Battle of the Apes is the fifth Installment in the Original Planet of The Apes series. The movie continues the story after the deadly fight between Apes and Humans in the previous Installment. The remaining humans and Apes are trying to coexist together. Besides this, there is another race, Mutated humans, living underneath the city.

According to Caesar, the only way to protect the planet is to live peacefully with humans, but other sections of Apes and humans think that Apes and humans cannot survive together.

Planet Of The Apes Movies In Release Order [Theatrical Order]

The chronological order of the series proves to be more fun, but if you wish to watch Planet Of The Apes Movies In Release Order, it’s terrific this way, you would be able to follow the story in the way creators have made the franchise. Here is the list of all Planet Of The Apes Movies In Release Order.

  • Planet of the Apes (1968)
  • Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
  • Escape from Planet of the Apes (1971)
  • Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
  • Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)
  • Planet of the Apes (2001) – Remake of Planet of the Apes (1968)
  • Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
  • Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
  • War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)

How many Planet of the Apes movies are there with Caesar?

In the Original series, Caesar is born in the “Escape from Planet of the Apes” movie, and the story of Caesar continues further in two sequel movies. While in the Remake series, all the movies are based on the level of Caesar. Hence in the whole Planet of the Apes Franchise, there are six movies with Caesar.

Which Planet of the Apes movie should I watch first?

There are two ways to watch Planet of The Apes movies, Chronological and Release order. You should view Planet of the Apes (1968) first if you wish to watch them in release order, while Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) first to watch the series in chronological order.

All Planet Of The Apes Movies, TV Show In Release order

Besides, Five original movies, one remake of the Planet of the Apes (1968), and three movies in remake series, there is a Planet of the Apes TV series that has two season and 15 episodes and an Animated series that explores the saga of Planet of the Apes further.

If you want to add the Television series and animated series to your watch order, I have listed the entire Planet of the Apes universe in the release order for you to watch.

  • Planet of the Apes (1968)
  • Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
  • Escape from Planet of the Apes (1971)
  • Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
  • Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)
  • Planet of the Apes (1974 – TV series)
  • Animated series (1975)
  • Planet of the Apes (2001) remake movie
  • Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
  • Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
  • War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)

Which Planet Of Apes Movie Is Best?

Planet of Apes series based on Fight’s story for survival between Humans and Apes is one of the longest and successful franchises.

There are a total of Nine Planet of the Apes movies but which one is the best out of them remains the question. To answer the question, here I have ranked all Planet of the Apes movies from worst to best based on audience rating on IMDb.

Planet of the Apes moviesIMDb Ratings
Battle for the Planet of the Apes5.5/10
Planet of the Apes5.7/10
Beneath the Planet of the Apes6.1/10
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes6.3/10
Escape from the Planet of the Apes6.1/10
War for the Planet of the Apes7.4/10
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes7.6/10
Rise of the Planet of the Apes7.6/10
Planet of the Apes8/10

Conclusion

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