Planet of the Apes: Chronological order of the original films and the prequels

A Chronological Guide to the Planet of the Apes Saga

1968’s Planet of the Apes, a landmark sci-fi film based on Pierre Boulle’s 1963 novel, kicked off one of the strangest, boldest franchises of its time. What followed wasn’t just a hit movie. It was a full-blown wave: four sequels, tie-in novels, a live-action TV series, and even an animated show. The setup? A future war between humans and hyper-intelligent apes. The hook? Real-world parallels like racism, animal rights, and Cold War paranoia smuggled into pulp storytelling. That blend of spectacle and subtext earned it a spot among the greatest sci-fi sagas ever made.

After the original run fizzled, it wouldn’t stir again until Tim Burton’s 2001 remake, which had ambition but failed to land. Then came 2011. Rise of the Planet of the Apes hit reset and nailed it. Gritty, emotional, and thoughtful, it revived the series and launched a new prequel trilogy, closing the gap between our world and the ape-run dystopia of the ’68 original. In 2024, a fourth chapter, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, pushed that vision even further.

The Complete Planet of the Apes Chronology

The modern prequel series and the classic original saga, presented in in-universe chronological order.

1. Rise of the Planet of the ApesReleased: 2011

Timeline: Early 2010s

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The origin story of the revolution. A scientist's search for an Alzheimer's cure results in a retrovirus that dramatically increases ape intelligence. The first subject, Caesar, is raised by humans but a tragic incident leads to his imprisonment with other apes, where he sows the seeds of an uprising while the virus begins to decimate humanity.

Lore Note: Caesar's mother is nicknamed "Bright Eyes," a direct homage to how the female human Nova was referred to by Dr. Zira in the original 1968 film.

2. Dawn of the Planet of the ApesReleased: 2014

Timeline: 2020s

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A decade after the "Simian Flu" pandemic wiped out most of humanity, Caesar leads a thriving ape colony in the Muir Woods. Their peace is shattered when they encounter a small band of human survivors. Though Caesar attempts diplomacy, his scarred lieutenant Koba, who despises humans, orchestrates a coup that plunges both species into war.

Lore Note: To prepare for their roles, the ape actors attended "Ape Camp," where they studied ape behavior and learned to move and vocalize like chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas.

3. War for the Planet of the ApesReleased: 2017

Timeline: Late 2020s

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Two years after the events of Dawn, the war between apes and humans rages on. After suffering a devastating personal loss at the hands of a ruthless colonel, Caesar embarks on a dark quest for revenge. The film concludes the trilogy by cementing Caesar's legacy as the apes' foundational leader, leading them to a new home.

Lore Note: The virus mutates in this film, causing human survivors to become mute and regress to a primitive state. This provides the in-universe explanation for the non-verbal humans seen in the original 1968 movie.

4. Kingdom of the Planet of the ApesReleased: 2024

Timeline: Several generations after Caesar (approx. 2300s)

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Set nearly 300 years after Caesar's death, ape clans have diverged while humans have regressed further. A young chimpanzee, Noa, embarks on a journey with a human girl named Mae after his village is enslaved by Proximus Caesar, a tyrannical leader who twists Caesar's original teachings to justify his quest for forgotten human technology.

Lore Note: The film subtly re-introduces the idea of telepathic mutants from "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" through Mae's connection to a hidden human society that communicates via technology, bridging the new series with the old.

5. Planet of the ApesReleased: 1968

Timeline: 3978 AD

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The classic that started it all. Astronaut George Taylor crash lands on a mysterious planet where intelligent, talking apes are the dominant species and primitive humans are hunted. He is captured and studied, ultimately leading to one of cinema's most famous twist endings: he was on Earth all along, long after human civilization destroyed itself.

Lore Note: The iconic line, "Get your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape," was not in the original script. Charlton Heston improvised it during rehearsal, and the director loved it enough to keep it in.

6. Beneath the Planet of the ApesReleased: 1970

Timeline: 3978 AD

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Picking up immediately after the first film, a new astronaut, Brent, arrives searching for Taylor. He discovers a subterranean city of telepathic, radiation-scarred human mutants who worship an ancient nuclear bomb. The film ends in a cataclysmic finale where Taylor, in a fit of nihilism, triggers the bomb and destroys the entire planet.

Lore Note: Charlton Heston only agreed to return if his character was killed off early. The studio convinced him to appear in the beginning and end, with his final act of destroying the world being his idea to prevent any further sequels. It didn't work.

7. Escape from the Planet of the ApesReleased: 1971

Timeline: 1973

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In a shocking twist, ape scientists Cornelius and Zira survive the planet's destruction by escaping in Taylor's repaired spaceship, which follows the same time warp back to the 20th century. They become celebrities, but fear and paranoia arise when it's revealed that their offspring will eventually lead to humanity's downfall, creating a tragic causal loop.

Lore Note: This is the only film in the original pentalogy to be primarily set in the contemporary era of its production. Its fish-out-of-water tone and social satire were a stark contrast to its predecessors' grim dystopian feel.

8. Conquest of the Planet of the ApesReleased: 1972

Timeline: 1991

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Set 18 years after the previous film, this installment shows the fulfillment of the apes' dark prophecy. In a world where cats and dogs have died from a plague, apes have become humanity's slaves. Caesar, the son of Cornelius and Zira, emerges from hiding to lead a violent, brutal ape rebellion against their human oppressors.

Lore Note: The original ending was so violent and grim, with Caesar ordering the execution of the human antagonist, that the studio forced a last-minute change. A new speech was overdubbed where Caesar shows mercy, softening the film's revolutionary message.

9. Battle for the Planet of the ApesReleased: 1973

Timeline: Early 21st Century (Post-nuclear war)

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Following the ape uprising and a devastating nuclear war, Caesar attempts to build a new society where apes and humans can coexist peacefully. However, his efforts are threatened by both a militant gorilla faction and a group of radiation-scarred human survivors. The film frames the entire saga as a history being told by an ape Lawgiver, leaving the future ambiguous.

Lore Note: Due to severe budget cuts, the final "battle" was significantly scaled down from the epic conflict the script originally called for, which is why it feels much smaller in scope than Conquest.

Standalone Film: Planet of the ApesReleased: 2001

Timeline: Standalone (Set in 2029 and an alternate 5021)

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Tim Burton's reimagining stands outside the main chronology. An astronaut crash-lands on a planet ruled by hyper-intelligent, talking apes. While it shares the premise of the original, it features a different storyline and a controversial twist ending that sets up a sequel that was never made.

Lore Note: The film's famously confusing ending, where the hero returns to an Earth where apes replaced humans in history, was a last-minute idea from Burton. He admitted he did not fully understand it but felt it was a fittingly bizarre twist.

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