Planet of the Apes is an American science fiction media franchise about a world in which humans and intelligent apes clash for control. The franchise is based on 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.
Four sequels followed the original film: Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972), and Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973). Planet of the Apes was headlined by Charlton Heston as George Taylor, along Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter as Cornelius and Zira. Heston returned for the second film, as well as Hunter, while McDowall was replaced by David Watson. Both McDowall and Hunter reprised their respective roles in Escape from the Planet of the Apes, while McDowall starred as a different character, Caesar, in the fourth and fifth films. A remake was released in 2001, starring Mark Wahlberg as Leo Davidson, with Tim Roth as General Thade and Helena Bonham Carter as Ari.
A reboot film series commenced in 2011 with Rise of the Planet of the Apes, starring James Franco as Will Rodman and Andy Serkis as Caesar. It was followed by Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), both also starring Serkis. A fourth film, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, starring Owen Teague as Noa, was released in 2024.
| Character | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planet of the Apes | Beneath the Planet of the Apes | Escape from the Planet of the Apes | Conquest of the Planet of the Apes | Battle for the Planet of the Apes | |
| 1968 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | |
Introduced in Planet of the Apes | |||||
| Dr. Cornelius | Roddy McDowall | David Watson | Roddy McDowall | ||
| Dodge | Jeff Burton | colspan="4" | |||
| Dr. Honorious | James Daly | colspan="4" | |||
| Landon | Robert Gunner | colspan="2" | |||
| Lucius | Lou Wagner | colspan="4" | |||
| Dr. Maximus | Woodrow Parfrey | colspan="4" | |||
| Nova | Linda Harrison | colspan="3" | |||
| President of the Assembly | James Whitmore | colspan="4" | |||
| Stewart | Dianne Stanley | colspan="4" | |||
| George Taylor | Charlton Heston | colspan="2" | |||
| Dr. Zaius | Maurice Evans | colspan="3" | |||
| Dr. Zira | Kim Hunter | ||||
Introduced in Beneath the Planet of the Apes | |||||
| Albina | Natalie Trundy | colspan="3" | |||
| Brent | James Franciscus | colspan="3" | |||
| Caspay | Jeff Corey | colspan="3" | |||
| Fat Man | Victor Buono | colspan="3" | |||
| Mendez | Paul Richards | colspan="3" | |||
| Minister | Thomas Gomez | colspan="3" | |||
| Negro | Don Pedro Colley | colspan="3" | |||
| General Ursus | James Gregory | colspan="3" | |||
| Verger | Gregory Sierra | colspan="3" | |||
| Skipper | Tod Andrews | colspan="3" | |||
Introduced in Escape from the Planet of the Apes | |||||
| Armando | Ricardo Montalbán | ||||
| Dr. Stephanie "Stevie" Branton | Natalie Trundy | colspan="2" | |||
| Caesar | Walker Edmiston | Roddy McDowall | |||
| Dr. Lewis Dixon | Bradford Dillman | colspan="3" | |||
| Dr. Otto Hasslein | Eric Braeden | ||||
| Dr. Milo | Sal Mineo | colspan="2" | |||
Introduced in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes | |||||
| Governor Breck | Don Murray | ||||
| Kolp | Severn Darden | ||||
| Lisa | Natalie Trundy | ||||
| MacDonald | Hari Rhodes | ||||
Introduced in Battle for the Planet of the Apes | |||||
| Abe the Teacher | Noah Keen | ||||
| General Aldo | Claude Akins | ||||
| Alma | France Nuyen | ||||
| Cornelius II | Bobby Porter | ||||
| The Lawgiver | John Huston | ||||
| MacDonald | Austin Stoker | ||||
| Mandemus | Lew Ayres | ||||
| Mendez | Paul Stevens< | -- | |||
| Mutant Captain | Richard Eastham --> | ||||
| Virgil | Paul Williams | ||||
| Character | Planet of the Apes | |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | ||
| Grace Alexander | Anne Ramsay --> | |
| Ari | Helena Bonham Carter | |
| Colonel Attar | Michael Clarke Duncan | |
| Birn | Luke Eberl | |
| Bon | Freda Foh Shen | |
| Maria Cooper | Andrea Grano --> | |
| Daena | Estella Warren | |
| Leo Davidson | Mark Wahlberg | |
| Gunnar | Evan Parke --> | |
| Karubi | Kris Kristofferson | |
| General Krull | Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa | |
| Limbo | Paul Giamatti | |
| Senator Nado | Glenn Shadix | |
| Nova | Lisa Marie | |
| Senator Sandar | David Warner | |
| Frank Santos | Michael Jace --> | |
| General Thade | Tim Roth | |
| Tival | Erick Avari | |
| Karl Vasich | Chris Ellis --> | |
| Dr. Zaius | Charlton Heston |
| Character | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rise of the Planet of the Apes | Dawn of the Planet of the Apes | War for the Planet of the Apes | Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes | |
| 2011 | 2014 | 2017 | 2024 | |
Introduced in Rise of the Planet of the Apes | ||||
| Caroline Aranha | Freida Pinto | colspan="3" | ||
| Caesar | Andy Serkis | |||
| Cornelia | Devyn Dalton | Judy Greer | ||
| Robert Franklin | Tyler Labine | colspan="3" | ||
| Hunsiker | David Hewlett | colspan="3" | ||
| Steven Jacobs | David Oyelowo | colspan="3" | ||
| Koba | Christopher Gordon | Toby Kebbell | ||
| Dodge Landon | Tom Felton | colspan="3" | ||
| John Landon | Brian Cox | colspan="3" | ||
| Maurice | Karin Konoval | Karin Konoval | ||
| Rocket | Terry Notary | |||
| Charles Rodman | John Lithgow | colspan="3" | ||
| Will Rodman | James Franco | James Franco | colspan="2" | |
Introduced in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes | ||||
| Alexander | Kodi Smit-McPhee | colspan="2" | ||
| Ash | Doc Shaw | colspan="2" | ||
| Blue Eyes | Nick Thurston | Max Lloyd-Jones | ||
| Carver | Kirk Acevedo | colspan="2" | ||
| Cornelius | Devyn Dalton | |||
| Dreyfus | Gary Oldman | colspan="2" | ||
| Ellie | Keri Russell | colspan="2" | ||
| Finney | Keir O'Donnell | colspan="2" | ||
| Grey | Lee Ross | colspan="2" --> | ||
| Luca | Scott Lang | Michael Adamthwaite | ||
| Malcolm | Jason Clarke | colspan="2" | ||
| McVeigh | Kevin Rankin | colspan="2" | ||
| Werner | Jocko Sims | colspan="2" | ||
Introduced in War for the Planet of the Apes | ||||
| Bad Ape | Steve Zahn | |||
| Boyle | Chad Rook | |||
| Lake | Sara Canning | |||
| Colonel J. Wesley McCullough | Woody Harrelson | |||
| Nova | Amiah Miller | |||
| Preacher | Gabriel Chavarria | |||
| Red | Ty Olsson | |||
| Winter | Aleks Paunovic | |||
Introduced in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes | ||||
| Anaya | Travis Jeffery | |||
| Proximus Caesar | Kevin Durand | |||
| Dar | Sara Wiseman | |||
| Koro | Neil Sandilands | |||
| Korina | Dichen Lachman[1] | |||
| Lightning | Ras-Samuel Weld A'abzgi | |||
| Mae / Nova | Freya Allan | |||
| Noa | Owen Teague | |||
| Raka | Peter Macon | |||
| Soona | Lydia Peckham | |||
| Sylva | Eka Darville[2] | |||
| Trevathan | William H. Macy[3] | |||