MOVIE TITLE	RELEASE DATE
2001. “Planet of the Apes”	July 27, 2001

STARRING:

•Mark Wahlberg as Captain Leo Davidson A United States Air Force astronaut who accidentally enters a portal to another world inhabited by talking human-like apes and is captured by them. Leo leads a rebellion of the planet's humans. Wahlberg had backed out of a commitment to Ocean's Eleven to take this role in Planet of the Apes (Matt Damon was eventually cast in the Ocean's Eleven role). Whereas other actors contending for the Leo Davidson role wanted to see the script before signing a contract, Wahlberg signed on after a five-minute meeting with Burton. To avoid evoking associations with his previous work as an underwear model, Wahlberg did not wear a loincloth, even though Heston had worn one in the original film. •Tim Roth as General Thade A sadistic chimpanzee military commander who wants control over the ape civilization. Thade also intends to marry Ari, but she dismisses him. Roth turned down the role of Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone because of his commitment to Planet of the Apes. Alan Rickman was eventually cast as Snape. Roth rewrote some scenes to give his character a more frightening presence. •Helena Bonham Carter as Ari A female chimpanzee who protests the way humans are treated. She helps Leo lead the rebellion. Burton met Bonham Carter while casting for the film, telling her "Don't take this the wrong way, but you were the first person I thought of to play a chimpanzee." They were in a relationship for 13 years and had two children. •Michael Clarke Duncan as Colonel Attar A gorilla military officer and Thade's former closest associate and second-in-command. Djimon Hounsou had turned down the role because of scheduling conflicts with The Four Feathers. •Estella Warren as Daena A female slave and Karubi's daughter, she develops a romantic attraction to Leo. •Kris Kristofferson as Karubi Daena's father. Karubi is killed by Thade while trying to escape. Kristofferson had immediately agreed to be cast. "The director Tim Burton is a hero of mine. I have eight kids and we've seen all of his films from Pee-wee's Big Adventure to Sleepy Hollow many times." •Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as General Krull A gorilla and former military leader whose career had been destroyed by Thade. Krull became a servant of Senator Sandar and assisted the humans in their rebellion. •Paul Giamatti as Limbo A comical orangutan who works in the trade business of human slaves. Limbo is caught in the conflict between humans and apes and tries his best to simply survive. Giamatti drew inspiration from W. C. Fields for his performance. While his prosthetic makeup was being applied, Giamatti watched episodes of Ultraman and various Japanese Godzilla films. •Jonah and Jacob (both uncredited) as Pericles A trained chimpanzee in a US Air Force program in 2029, working with Leo on the space station to fly space pods. He is launched on a mission that involves traveling through an electromagnetic storm. He appears in only a few scenes, interacting mainly with Leo and in the ending scene with Ari. Other roles include David Warner (Senator Sandar), Lisa Marie (Nova), Erick Avari (Tival), Luke Eberl (Birn), Evan Parke (Gunnar), Glenn Shadix (Senator Nado), Freda Foh Shen (Bon), Chris Ellis (Lt. Karl Vasich), Anne Ramsay (Lt. Col. Grace Alexander), Kam Heskin (Friend at Leo's Party), and Melody Perkins (Friend at Leo's Party). There are also cameo appearances by Charlton Heston (uncredited) as Zaius, Thade's father, and Linda Harrison (the woman in the cart). Both participated in the first two films in the original series, Planet of the Apes (1968) and Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) as George Taylor and Nova, respectively.

SYNOPSIS:

In 2029, aboard the United States Air Force space station Oberon, Leo Davidson works closely with primates who are trained for space missions. His favorite simian co-worker is a chimpanzee named Pericles. With a deadly electromagnetic storm approaching the station, a small space pod piloted by Pericles is used to probe the storm. Pericles's pod heads into the storm and disappears. Leo takes a second pod and goes into a pursuit search for Pericles. Entering the storm, Leo loses contact with the Oberon and, in 5021 A.D., crashes on a planet called Ashlar. He discovers that the world is ruled by humanoid apes who speak English, use domesticated horses for transportation, and treat human beings as slaves. Leo comes across a female chimpanzee named Ari, who protests the awful treatment humans receive. Ari decides to buy Leo and a female slave named Daena to have them work as servants in the house of her father, Senator Sandar. Leo escapes his cage and frees other humans. Limbo, a slave trader in captured humans, sees them but is taken prisoner to ensure his silence. The human-hating General Thade and his junior, Colonel Attar, march ape warriors in pursuit of the humans. Leo discovers Calima, the forbidden, but holy temple of "Semos", the first ape whom the apes revere as a god. Calima turns out to be the remains of the Oberon which had crashed on the planet's surface and now looks ancient (the name Calima coming from the sign "CAution LIve aniMAls", the relevant letters being the only ones not covered in dust). According to the computer logs, the station has been there for thousands of years. Leo deduces that when he entered the vortex, he was pushed forward in time, while the Oberon, searching after him, was not, crashing on the planet long before he did. The Oberon's log reveals that the apes on board, led by Semos, organized a mutiny and took control of the vessel after it crashed. The human and ape survivors of the struggle left the ship and their descendants are the people Leo has encountered since landing. The apes arrive and attack the humans who have gathered to see Leo, although he is able to even the odds when he uses the Oberon's last fragments of fuel to fire a final blast at the first wave of apes. The battle is halted as a familiar vehicle descends from the sky and is identified immediately by Leo. The pod is piloted by Pericles, the chimp astronaut. Pericles was pushed forward in time as Leo was, and had just now found his way to the planet, the electromagnetic storm actually releasing people from it in an opposite direction in time to their entrance. When Pericles lands and the pod opens, the apes interpret his arrival as the return of Semos. They bow, and hostilities between humans and apes suddenly cease. Pericles runs into the wreck of the Oberon and Leo runs after him, followed by General Thade. Thade and Leo fight. Pericles tries to help Leo, but Thade throws him hard against a wall. Thade takes Leo's gun from him and tries to fire it at Leo. Leo sees that Thade is within the pilot's deck and closes the automatic door, trapping Thade inside. Thade fires the gun repeatedly at the door but the ricochets create sparks that scare Thade, who huddles under a control panel. Leo decides to escape Ashlar and return to Earth. He gives Pericles to Ari, who promises to look after him. He says goodbye and kisses Ari and Daena. Leo climbs aboard Pericles's undamaged pod and travels back in time through the same electromagnetic storm, and crashes in Washington, D.C. on Earth. He looks up at what appears to be the Lincoln Memorial, only to find that it is now a monument memorializing General Thade. Leo is descended upon by a swarm of police officers, firefighters, and news reporters, all of whom are apes.

MOVIE TITLE	RELEASE DATE
2011. “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”	August 5, 2011

STARRING:

•Andy Serkis as Caesar, a chimpanzee whose intelligence is increased from being exposed in the womb to ALZ-112 when the drug is administered to his pregnant mother, and who is raised by Will for eight years. •James Franco as Will Rodman, a chemist who is trying to discover a cure for his father's Alzheimer's disease by testing ALZ-112 on chimps; he is a father figure to Caesar. James Franco was cast after talks with Tobey Maguire broke down. •Freida Pinto as Caroline Aranha, a primatologist who begins a relationship with Will and grows attached to Caesar. •John Lithgow as Charles Rodman, Will's Alzheimer's-afflicted father and a former music teacher who improves after Will gives him the ALZ-112 and forms a grandfatherly bond with Caesar. •Brian Cox as John Landon, manager of the San Bruno Primate Shelter where Caesar is confined for a time. •Tom Felton as Dodge Landon, John's son and an animal caretaker at the shelter, who abuses the apes for sport. His first and last name are references to two of the astronauts in the original Planet of the Apes. •David Oyelowo as Steven Jacobs, Will's supervisor at Gen-Sys. Rise of the Planet of the Apes features an ape cast that includes Karin Konoval as the Bornean orangutan Maurice, Terry Notary as Rocket and Caesar's mother Bright Eyes, Richard Ridings as the western lowland gorilla Buck, Devyn Dalton as Cornelia, Jay Caputo as Caesar's father Alpha and Christopher Gordon as the scarred bonobo Koba. The human cast includes Tyler Labine as chimp handler Robert Franklin, David Hewlett as Will's hot-headed neighbor Douglas Hunsiker, Jamie Harris as the ape sanctuary's caretaker Rodney, and Chelah Horsdal as Charles's nurse Irena.

SYNOPSIS:

In present-day San Francisco, pharmaceutical chemist William Rodman is testing the viral-based drug ALZ-112 on chimpanzees at the biotech company Gen-Sys to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. ALZ-112 is given to a chimp named Bright Eyes, greatly increasing her intelligence. However, during Will's presentation for the drug, Bright Eyes is forced from her cage, goes on a rampage and is shot to death. Will's boss Steven Jacobs terminates the project and has the chimps euthanized. However, Will's assistant Robert Franklin discovers that the reason for Bright Eyes' rampage was that she had recently given birth to an infant chimp. Will reluctantly takes in the chimp, eventually giving him the name "Caesar". Discovering that Caesar has inherited his mother's intelligence through being exposed to ALZ-112 in her womb, Will decides to raise him. Three years later, Caesar has become a highly intelligent animal and can play games, draw pictures, and communicate with Will through sign language. Will introduces Caesar to the redwood forest at Muir Woods National Monument so he can roam. Meanwhile, Will treats his dementia-suffering father Charles with ALZ-112, which seems to restore his cognitive ability. Five years later, Caesar, now a young adolescent, questions if he is a pet and learns of his origins from Will. Meanwhile, Charles' condition returns as his immune system becomes resistant to ALZ-112. Caesar injures an aggressive neighbor, Douglas Hunsiker, while defending a confused Charles. As a result the animal control arrives and takes him away to a primate shelter. Because of his increased intelligence and his different appearance to the other apes, Caesar is tormented by the alpha chimp, Rocket, and the chief guard, Dodge Landon. However, Caesar also befriends Maurice, a former circus orangutan who also knows sign language. Caesar learns how to unlock his cage, gaining free access to the common area. With the assistance of Buck, a gorilla, he confronts Rocket and claims the position of alpha chimp. Meanwhile, Jacobs clears the development of a more powerful, gaseous version of the drug - ALZ-113 - when Will tells him it can also improve intelligence. Will takes the drug home for his father, but Charles declines further treatment and dies overnight. After attempting to test the drug on a scarred bonobo test subject called Koba, Franklin becomes exposed to ALZ-113 and becomes ill. Attempting to warn Will at his home, he sneezes blood onto Hunsiker and is later discovered dead. Will attempts to reclaim Caesar, but Caesar instead decides to stay and uses the ALZ-113 canisters from Will's house and enhances the intelligence of the other apes in the sanctuary. When Dodge attempts to get him back into his cage, Caesar speaks for the first time, shouting "No!" and fights with Dodge while freeing the apes, which inadvertently leads to Dodge's death. The apes flee the facility, releasing Koba and the remaining apes from Gen-Sys, and free more apes from the San Francisco Zoo. A battle ensues as the ape "army" fights their way past a police blockade on the Golden Gate Bridge in an attempt to escape into the redwood forest. To rescue Caesar, Buck jumps into a police helicopter in which Jacobs is riding, wrecking the helicopter, at the cost of his life. Koba then pushes Jacobs into the Golden Gate strait to his death. As the apes find their way into the forest, Will catches up to them in a stolen police car and warns Caesar that the humans will hunt them down, begging him to return home. In response, Caesar hugs him and says, "Caesar is home". Will, realizing that this is their last goodbye, respects Caesar's wishes. The apes embrace their new lifestyle in the forest as news and police helicopters fly over San Francisco. Meanwhile, Hunsiker, now infected with ALZ-113, arrives at San Francisco International Airport for his flight to Paris. He eventually spreads the virus around the globe via international flight routes, leading to a deadly pandemic.

MOVIE TITLE	RELEASE DATE
2014. “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”	July 11, 2014

STARRING:

Apes •Andy Serkis as Caesar, a chimpanzee and leader of the evolved ape tribe. •Toby Kebbell as Koba, a treacherous scarred bonobo. •Judy Greer as Cornelia. •Nick Thurston as Blue Eyes. •Terry Notary as Rocket, Caesar's loyal lieutenant. •Karin Konoval as Maurice, a Bornean orangutan and Caesar's loyal friend and adviser. Humans •Jason Clarke as Malcolm, the leader of the small group that forms a strong bond with Caesar and the other apes, and Ellie's husband •Gary Oldman as Dreyfus, the leader of the remaining human survivors •Keri Russell as Ellie, a former nurse at the CDC, and Malcolm's second wife •Kodi Smit-McPhee as Alexander, Malcolm's son from a previous marriage •Kirk Acevedo as Carver, a former San Francisco water worker and a member of Malcolm's group •Jon Eyez as Foster, a member of Malcolm's group •Enrique Murciano as Kemp, a member of Malcolm's group •Keir O'Donnell as Finney, an ally of Dreyfus •Kevin Rankin as McVeigh, a guard at the colony's armory •Jocko Sims as Werner, the colony's radio operator •James Franco (uncredited) as Will Rodman from Rise of the Planet of the Apes, in a cameo via a video from Caesar's childhood

SYNOPSIS:

Ten years after the global pandemic of a deadly Simian Flu,[a] the worldwide human population has been drastically reduced, with only about one in 500 genetically immune. Civilization is destroyed from the result of societal collapse. The apes, under the chimpanzee Caesar, all bestowed with genetically enhanced intelligence by the virus, have long-established a colony in the Muir Woods near San Francisco. A group of humans, led by a man named Malcolm, trespass the apes' territory from San Francisco in search of a hydroelectric dam that would restore power to the city. An encounter by Caesar's son Blue Eyes and his friend Ash leads to the latter's injury by a man named Carver. Malcolm manages to prevent further escalation, and Caesar orders the humans to leave. Prompted by Koba, a scarred bonobo which holds a grudge against humans for his mistreatment as a laboratory test subject, Caesar brings his army to the humans' community as a display of strength. Caesar announces to the community that while the apes do not want war, he intends to fight the humans if he is forced to, while demanding the humans stay in their territory. Malcolm convinces his fellow leader Dreyfus to give him time to take a small team to the forest and reconcile with the apes so they can access the dam. He meets with Caesar, who allows them to work on the generator on the condition that they surrender their guns. As Malcolm, his wife Ellie, and his son Alexander work, they bond with the apes. The fragile bonding is greatly helped when Ellie, a nurse, effectively treats Caesar's wife Cornelia's illness. Dreyfus arms his community using the Fort Point armory. Koba discovers the armory and confronts Caesar, accusing him of loving humans more than apes. Caesar beats Koba in response, but refrains from killing him. Koba later returns to the armory and takes an assault rifle, killing two guards, and he secretly kills Carver after the humans succeed in repairing the generator and restoring power to the city. Koba takes advantage of their celebration to covertly set fire to the apes' home. He then shoots Caesar, who falls into the underbrush below, and frames the humans for Caesar's apparent death in order to wage war. Koba quickly takes command and leads the ape army into San Francisco, where they plunder the armory and mount a full-scale assault on the human settlement. Despite taking heavy casualties, the apes breach the building and imprison the humans as Dreyfus flees underground. When Ash refuses Koba's orders to kill unarmed humans, citing Caesar's teachings, Koba throws him to his death and has any other ape who is loyal to Caesar imprisoned, including Maurice, Luca and Rocket. Malcolm's family find a severely wounded Caesar and transport him to his former house in San Francisco. When Malcolm sneaks back into the settlement to find medical supplies for Caesar, he encounters Blue Eyes, who spares him before learning that his father is still alive and accompanies Malcolm to find him. Caesar reveals that it was Koba who shot him, not the humans, and confesses that apes can be as corrupt and violent as humans. After reconciling with Caesar, Blue Eyes returns to the tower and frees the imprisoned humans and apes. Malcolm escorts the apes into the tower and then finds Dreyfus. He learns that the return of electricity allowed Dreyfus' men to make radio contact with survivors from a military base, who are now coming to fight the apes. Caesar confronts Koba at the top of the tower; as they fight, Dreyfus, who has initiated a suicide mission, detonates C-4 charges that destabilize the tower in a failed attempt to kill the apes. Koba starts angrily shooting at the apes, but Caesar tackles him off a ledge. While clinging on a metal girder, Koba is disowned as an ape by Caesar and dropped to his death. Malcolm and Caesar acknowledge their friendship, with Malcolm warning of the approaching human military. Caesar responds that the humans will never forgive the apes for their attack and convinces Malcolm to leave with his family. He then stands before a kneeling mass of apes, preparing for the upcoming war.[b] After the credits, Koba is heard breathing after his fall.

MOVIE TITLE	RELEASE DATE
2017. “War for the Planet of the Apes”	July 14, 2017

STARRING:

•Andy Serkis as Caesar, a chimpanzee who is leader to a tribe of enhanced apes. •Woody Harrelson as Colonel J. Wesley McCullough, the leader of the paramilitary organization the Alpha-Omega, who is obsessed with wiping out Caesar and his tribe to preserve humans as the dominant species on Earth. •Steve Zahn as Bad Ape. •Toby Kebbell as Koba, a treacherous scarred bonobo. •Gabriel Chavarria as Preacher, a human soldier working under the Colonel in the Alpha-Omega. •Judy Greer as Cornelia. •Karin Konoval as Maurice, a Bornean orangutan and Caesar's loyal adviser and friend. •Terry Notary as Rocket, Caesar's loyal lieutenant. •Michael Adamthwaite as Luca, a western lowland gorilla in Caesar's tribe. •Ty Olsson as Red. •Devyn Dalton as Cornelius. •Sara Canning as Lake. •Aleks Paunovic as Winter. •Amiah Miller as Nova, a mute orphan girl whom Maurice befriends and cares for. •Max Lloyd-Jones as Blue Eyes.

SYNOPSIS:

Two years after the human survivors in San Francisco were attacked, Caesar and his intelligent apes have been forced to battle Alpha-Omega, paramilitaries led by a ruthless colonel. Alpha-Omega were originally soldiers of special forces and employs captured apes, derogatorily called "donkeys". An Alpha-Omega platoon attacks an ape outpost, yet it fails and four soldiers, including one named Preacher plus a "donkey" named Red, are captured. Caesar releases the humans, hoping to show the colonel a desire of peace; Red escapes by injuring Winter. Caesar's son Blue Eyes and friend Rocket return from a journey. Blue Eyes reports that they found an oasis that is ideal for the apes. At night, the colonel leads a team in infiltrating the apes' hidden home, killing Blue Eyes and Caesar's wife after mistaking Blue Eyes for Caesar. The apes are unable to find Winter, who betrayed them to the colonel. As the tribe gathers to journey to safety, Caesar leaves his youngest son, Cornelius, in the care of Blue Eyes' wife Lake, then departs to serve as a decoy for the others. Accompanied by Rocket, orangutan Maurice and gorilla Luca, they enter a village, where they find a soldier. After Caesar kills him in self-defense, they find a mute girl, who Maurice befriends, giving her a rag doll. They find Winter, now a "donkey" at a camp. Winter says that the Colonel has left, then attempts to call out for help, and Caesar, Rocket and Luca restrain yet accidentally suffocate him. While following the Alpha-Omega, the apes discover soldiers shot and left for dead. A dying soldier reveals that he is mute like the girl. Caesar's group chase a hooded figure who stole one of their horses and are surprised to discover he is an intelligent ape named Bad Ape. Bad Ape knows where Alpha-Omega is stationed and leads them there. The location proves to be a quarantine facility with an arsenal in the mountains. Attempting to get closer, Luca is killed by patrollers and Caesar is captured. Caesar learns that Alpha-Omega captured his entire tribe and are forcing them to build a defensive wall. The colonel forces him to work with the other apes, but Caesar inspires them to stop working. Caesar deduces that the colonel is barricading the facility to fend off the remaining U.S. Army. The colonel explains that the Simian Flu virus has mutated and the human carriers of the new strain devolve and become mute. He was executing sick humans, including his own son. He spared a man against the decision who fled and falsely convinced the Army that the flu could be cured. Alpha-Omega have Caesar tortured with starvation to force the other apes to work. The mute girl, named Nova by Maurice, sneaks into the facility to give Caesar food, water and her rag doll. To divert attention from Nova, Rocket allows himself to be captured by Red. The next day, the Colonel discovers and confiscates the doll. Caesar and Rocket free the apes to an underground tunnel leading out of the facility. Caesar remains behind to confront the Colonel, but the facility is attacked by the Army. Finding the Colonel infected by the virus from contact with Nova's doll, Caesar watches him commit suicide. The escaping apes are caught in the crossfire. Caesar attempts to blow up a large fuel tank to take out the Alpha-Omega forces from behind, but he is shot by Preacher. Red intervenes with a change of heart, killing Preacher, but is executed by another soldier. Caesar blows up the tank, inadvertently triggering an avalanche that wipes out both Alpha-Omega and the Army. The apes, carrying Nova, survive by climbing nearby trees. The apes cross the Colorado Plateau and reach the oasis. While the other apes celebrate, Maurice discovers Caesar's fatal wound. He promises to tell Cornelius who his father was and what he did for the apes, moments before Caesar dies.