Planet of the Apes watch order
All ten Planet of the Apes films and three series, in the order they came out, with the optional ones marked. It is the same order the emberslate app uses for its Planet of the Apes saga.
Updated · By emberfold labs
The short answer
Watch in release order, starting with Planet of the Apes (1968). The films come in three separate runs: the original five, the 2001 remake, and the modern films from Rise (2011) to Kingdom (2024). Two of the three series are optional. The ten films take about 19 hours.
- Titles
- 10 films, 3 series
- Everything
- about 50 hours
- Core path
- about 31 hours
- Films only
- about 19 hours
Release order
Planet of the Apes in release order
The order they came out. The best way in for a first watch.
- 01
01CorePlanet of the Apes (1968)
Film · 1h 52mCore
- 02
02CoreBeneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
Film · 1h 35mCore
- 03
03CoreEscape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
Film · 1h 38mCore
- 04
04CoreConquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
Film · 1h 28mCore
- 05
05CoreBattle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)
Film · 1h 33mCore
- 06
06CorePlanet of the Apes (1974)
Series · 1 season · 14 episodes · about 12hCore
- 07
07OptionalArmy of the Apes (1974–1975)
Series · 1 season · 26 episodes · about 13hOptional
Japanese series, not part of the main story. Completely optional.
- 08
08OptionalReturn to the Planet of the Apes (1975)
Series · 1 season · 13 episodes · about 7hOptional
Animated series. Watch it after the 1970s films to finish the old story.
- 09
09CorePlanet of the Apes (2001)
Film · 2h 0mCore
- 10
10CoreRise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
Film · 1h 45mCore
- 11
11CoreDawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
Film · 2h 10mCore
- 12
12CoreWar for the Planet of the Apes (2017)
Film · 2h 20mCore
- 13
13CoreKingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)
Film · 2h 25mCore
Three separate runs
The original five films from 1968 to 1973 tell one story. The 2001 film is a remake that stands alone. The modern run begins with Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) and continues through Dawn and War to Kingdom (2024), set generations later.
The list goes in release order, so the runs appear one after another.
If you only want the modern films
The modern films start fresh, so you can begin with Rise of the Planet of the Apes without seeing the 1968 original.
The series
The 1974 live-action series is marked core in the list. Army of the Apes is a Japanese series that is not part of the main story, and Return to the Planet of the Apes is an animated series. Both are optional.
What you can skip
Anything not marked core can wait. The main story does not need it, so watch it whenever you like.
Army of the Apes (1974–1975)
Japanese series, not part of the main story. Completely optional.
Return to the Planet of the Apes (1975)
Animated series. Watch it after the 1970s films to finish the old story.
Track it
Track the Planet of the Apes saga in emberslate
The Sagas tab in the emberslate app has this exact order. Mark the next step watched, and see how far through you are. It is free on Android.
Get emberslate on Google Play
Planet of the Apes watch order questions
What order should I watch the Planet of the Apes movies in?
Release order, starting with Planet of the Apes (1968) and its four sequels, then the 2001 film, then Rise, Dawn, War and Kingdom.
Do I need to watch the old Planet of the Apes movies first?
No. The modern films from Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) start a new story and can be watched on their own.
Is the 2001 Planet of the Apes part of the modern trilogy?
No. The 2001 film is a separate remake. The modern trilogy begins with Rise in 2011.
Do I need to watch the Planet of the Apes TV series?
No. Army of the Apes and Return to the Planet of the Apes are marked optional, and the 1974 series is a side story to the original films.
The order and the core, optional and save-for-later marks are the ones the emberslate app uses for this saga. Titles, years and runtimes come from TMDB; series runtimes count aired episodes only and are rounded. First published .