Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes is a science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a post-apocalyptic world in which humans and intelligent apes clash for control as the dominant species.[1] The franchise started with French author Pierre Boulle's 1963 novel La Planète des singes, translated into English as Planet of the Apes or Monkey Planet. Its 1968 film adaptation, Planet of the Apes, was a critical and commercial hit, initiating a series of sequels, tie-ins, and derivative works. Arthur P. Jacobs produced the first five Apes films through APJAC Productions for distributor 20th Century Fox; following his death in 1973, Fox controlled the franchise.
This article is about the media franchise. For the original 1963 novel, see Planet of the Apes (novel). For the original 1968 film, see Planet of the Apes (1968 film). For other uses, see Planet of the Apes (disambiguation).Planet of the Apes
La Planète des singes (1963)
1963–present
La Planète des singes (1963)
- Planet of the Apes (1968)
- Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
- Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
- Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
- Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)
Remake
- Planet of the Apes (2001)
Reboot series
- Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
- War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)
Planet of the Apes (1974)
Return to the Planet of the Apes (1975–1976)
- Planet of the Apes (2001)
- Revenge of the Apes (2003)
- Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier (2017)
- Crisis on the Planet of the Apes VR (2018)
Four sequels followed the original film from 1970 to 1973: Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, and Battle for the Planet of the Apes. They did not approach the critical acclaim of the original, but were commercially successful, spawning a live-action television series in 1974 and an animated series in 1975. Plans for a film remake stalled in "development hell" for over 10 years before the 2001 release of Planet of the Apes, directed by Tim Burton. A reboot film series commenced in 2011 with Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which was followed by Dawn of the Planet of the Apes in 2014 and War for the Planet of the Apes in 2017. In 2019, Disney, having acquired 20th Century Fox, announced further sequels to the 2011 reboot series are in production, with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes released in 2024. Franchise tie-ins include books, comics, video games and toys.
Planet of the Apes is the longest-running American science-fiction film series[2] and has grossed a total of over US$2 billion worldwide, against a combined budget of $567.5 million. It has received particular attention among film critics for its treatment of racial issues. Cinema and cultural analysts have also explored its Cold War and animal rights themes. The series has influenced subsequent films, media, and art, as well as popular culture and political discourse.
Remake film[edit]
Planned relaunch and development hell[edit]
Fox initiated plans to relaunch the Planet of the Apes series in the 1980s, but the project fell into a drawn-out and fruitless development phase—"development hell"—for over 10 years, one of the most protracted development periods in film history. It began in 1988, when Fox announced that Adam Rifkin, then a 21-year-old independent film director, would develop a new Apes movie. At a Fox executive's invitation, Rifkin pitched a concept for Return to the Planet of the Apes, an alternative sequel to Planet that ignored the other four films. In Rifkin's initial concept, Taylor's descendant Duke launches a Spartacus-like uprising against Roman-inspired ape oppressors led by General Izan. Days before the project was scheduled to enter pre-production, Fox brought in new studio executives, who sent it back to development.[66] They commissioned Rifkin to write several redrafts, but found them unsatisfactory and ultimately scrapped the project.[67]
After several years in limbo, Fox returned to the Apes concept, this time with Oliver Stone as a producer. Stone brought in Terry Hayes as screenwriter and they developed a script titled Return of the Apes.[68] In their script, humanity is threatened by an ailment encoded in their DNA, so two scientists go back in time thousands of years to stop it at its origin. They discover the disease was engineered by advanced apes to ensure humanity's eventual destruction.[69] Arnold Schwarzenegger committed to star as scientist Will Robinson and Phillip Noyce agreed to direct. The draft impressed Fox president Peter Chernin, but other executives were ambivalent about the action script, believing that it should be lighter. At one point, executive Dylan Sellers insisted the script include a comic scene involving apes playing baseball as his "stamp" on the film and fired Hayes when he left it out. This move caused Noyce to quit as well and subsequently, almost everyone involved in the project left for one reason or another.[68]
After the collapse of the Stone-Hayes project, Fox brought on Chris Columbus to develop a new Apes concept. Columbus hired Sam Hamm to write a screenplay taking elements from Boulle's novel and various unused treatments. In Hamm's script, an ape astronaut from a distant planet unleashes a devastating virus on Earth. Scientists go to the astronaut's planet, where apes hunt humans; they locate a cure but return to find Earth overrun by simians. Schwarzenegger remained attached, but Fox found the script underwhelming. Columbus left the project in 1995 after his mother's death and James Cameron stepped in to produce. Cameron intended to go in a "very different direction" with the script, but following the critical and financial success of his film Titanic, he dropped out of the project. Fox approached a series of directors to take over, without success.[70]
Other media and merchandise[edit]
Books[edit]
Pierre Boulle's novel La Planète des singes was translated and reprinted several times after its original publication in 1963.[129] All four of the original series' sequels spawned novelizations by established science fiction writers of the day, each of which went through multiple reprints of their own. Michael Avallone wrote the novelization for Beneath the Planet of the Apes in 1970. Jerry Pournelle, who later co-authored Lucifer's Hammer and The Mote in God's Eye, wrote the Escape from the Planet of the Apes novelization in 1974. John Jakes, former Science Fiction Writers of America president, wrote the Conquest of the Planet of the Apes novelization in 1972. David Gerrold, scriptwriter for the Star Trek episode "The Trouble with Tribbles", wrote the Battle for the Planet of the Apes novelization in 1973. Novelizations of the live action and animated television series were also produced.[130] William T. Quick wrote the 2001 Planet of the Apes novelization; he also wrote two prequel novels (Planet of the Apes: The Fall (2002) and Planet of the Apes: Colony (2003)), and several other book tie-ins were published.[131]
Themes and analysis[edit]
Racial issues[edit]
Critics consider race to be the Planet of the Apes series' primary theme.[8] Eric Greene, author of a book on the role of race in the original films and spinoff material, writes that "when seen as one epic work, the Apes saga emerges as a liberal allegory of racial conflict."[39] In Greene's interpretation, the franchise's plot arc is rooted in the central conflict in which humans and apes alternately subjugate one another in a destructive cycle.[157] Difference between human and ape manifests primarily in physical appearance, and dominance derives from social power rather than innate superiority. Each film shifts the power balance so that the audience identifies sometimes with the humans and at other times with the apes.[158] According to Greene, this arc's central message is that unresolved racial discord inevitably leads to cataclysm.[157] Other critics have adopted or echoed Greene's interpretation.[159][160] Producers Abrahams and Jacobs did not consciously intend the first film's racial undertones and did not appreciate them until Sammy Davis Jr. pointed them out in 1968.[161][162][163] Subsequently, the filmmakers incorporated the theme more overtly in later installments; as a result, race moves from being a secondary motif in the first two films to becoming the major concern of the last three.[164]
Several critics have written that the reboot films downplay this theme from the original series, removing the racial subtext of conflict between humans and apes. These critics generally argue that this is to the films' detriment, writing that it softens the series' edge,[165] leaves it thematically shallow,[166] and marginalizes non-white characters;[167] several critics have written that the films appear to invoke a "post-racial America", rather than exploring issues of race.[165][166][167] Others write that the films incorporate racial themes in subtler ways, but that their presentation oversimplifies a complex message to the point of reinforcing racial norms rather than challenging them.[167][168]
Cold War and nuclear apocalypse[edit]
The Cold War and the threat of nuclear holocaust are major themes introduced in Rod Serling's original Planet of the Apes script.[9] The films are apocalyptic and dystopian, suggesting the era's tensions could well lead to world destruction.[169][170] The films critique both sides of the war, with the oppressive ape society and the underground mutant city featuring traits of both Western culture and the Soviet bloc.[169][171] According to Greene, Cold War motifs were central to the first two films and some spinoff media, but were less significant in the later sequels, which foregrounded racial conflict instead.[172]
Animal rights[edit]
Questions of animal rights also figure heavily in the series; Greene considers this related to the racial themes.[173] The first film portrays Taylor treated cruelly by apes who consider him an animal; in later films, humans abuse apes for the same reason.[174] The idea of primate rights is much more dominant in the reboot films, which directly invoke the question of great ape personhood in portraying Caesar and his followers struggling for their rights in a society that does not consider them legal persons.[175]