The very first Planet Of The Apes movie premiered all the way back in 1968, which was a whopping 56 years ago. That makes this legendary science fiction franchise older than even Star Wars. As of 2024, there are nine movies in the Planet Of The Apes franchise in total, but even though that sounds daunting, we’re here to answer some important questions to prepare you for the upcoming latest entry, Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes.

Do I Need To Watch All Nine Previous Planet Of The Apes Movies?

No, don’t worry, you won’t have to watch all of them.

Why?

The first five Planet Of The Apes movies are:

1. Planet Of The Apes (1968)
2. Beneath The Planet Of The Apes (1970)
3. Escape From The Planet Of The Apes (1971)
4. Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes (1972)
5. Battle For The Planet Of The Apes (1973)

However, you don’t have to watch those five movies to understand Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes.

This is because Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes follows the continuity and timeline of the new reboot trilogy, which consists of the following:

1. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (2011)
2. Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes (2014)
3. War For The Planet Of The Apes (2017)

If you do want to keep up with what happened before Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes, you can just watch these three movies.

Last but not least, I’ve only mentioned eight movies, although I initially wrote above that there are nine in total. That’s because one of the movies, 2001’s Planet Of The Apes by director Tim Burton, is a remake of the 1968 movie and is not connected to anything else, so it’s just a standalone entry.

Where Can I Watch The Planet Of The Apes Movies?

If you live in the United States, all nine The Planet Of The Apes movies are available to stream on Hulu.

If you live in Malaysia, you can watch them on Disney+ Hotstar. Unfortunately, for some reason, the first four Planet Of The Apes movies are unavailable on the platform. That being said, the important ones you need to watch for Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes are all there (the three movies in the reboot trilogy).

Why Don’t I Need To Watch Previous Movies Before Watching Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes?

Technically, you don’t even need to watch the reboot trilogy to understand Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes and that’s officially according to the director of the upcoming movie himself, Wes Ball.

In an interview with ScreenRant, he said:

You do not have to see the previous movies to jump into this. This isn’t like season three of a TV series. It is designed, you will have enough to enjoy it for what it is. We have a little opening prologue that sets the table a little bit. But I will say this, I think it’s on Hulu or Disney Plus now or something, but go watch those previous three movies and go watch the 1968 version.

At least watch those four movies. You’ll be rewarded greatly if you have some familiarity with those movies when you go into this movie. But like I said, I think even the whole family can go to these things. There’s some thought provoking adult ideas in this thing, but there’s nothing gory, there’s too intense necessarily, but it is a mature kind of adventure but it’s safe for kids. They can take it.

Yes, he still recommends watching at least the reboot trilogy and the original 1968 movie if you want to be able to appreciate the full experience. As the writer of this article, I definitely agree with that as the optimum way to be able to enjoy Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes.

But there’s another reason why you don’t need to watch previous movies before Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes and it has to do with the premise and setting of the upcoming movie.

What Happened Before Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes?

The biggest reason why you don’t need to watch previous movies before Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes is because the setting of the movie takes place a whopping 300 years after the events of 2017’s War For The Planet Of The Apes.

What that means is that none of the characters from the reboot trilogy will even be alive and present in the world of Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes.

That being said, I’ll give a brief primer on the state of the world in the continuity set up by the reboot trilogy and continued in Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes.

300 years before Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes, a scientist named Will Rodman created a viral drug to cure Alzheimer’s disease. Unfortunately, the ALZ-113 version of the viral drug had side effects that would change the world forever. The drug went viral in a global outbreak and pandemic called Simian Flu, which wiped out most of humanity. The humans who survived the Simian Flu went on to be affected in other ways, causing future generations of humanity to devolve and lose their ability to speak and think critically.

Meanwhile, the ALZ-113 drug had a different effect on apes. It caused them to gain sentience and intelligence. An ape named Caesar led a revolution of the apes and created the first ape society. He’s the protagonist of the reboot trilogy and he eventually died at the end of 2017’s War For The Planet Of The Apes but not before leading his society of apes to a fertile new land for them to create a new civilization in.

So, yeah, that’s basically what will lead to the events of Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes, where things will likely be extremely different to how it was during the era of the reboot trilogy.

What Is The Premise Of Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes?

Most of Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes has been shrouded in secrecy but the synopsis of the final trailer does reveal a few details:

Nearly 300 years after the events of 2017’s War For The Planet of the Apes, ape civilizations have emerged from the oasis to which Caesar led his fellow apes, while humans have regressed into a feral, primitive state. When the ape king Proximus Caesar, armed with weapons forged from lost human technologies, perverts Caesar’s teachings to enslave other clans, the chimpanzee hunter Noa embarks on a harrowing journey alongside a human girl named Mae to determine the future for apes and humans alike.

So, yeah, Noa (played by Owen Teague with motion capture) is the name of the main ape protagonist, while Mae (who is played by Freya Allan, best known for playing Ciri in Netflix’s The Witcher series) is the name of the main human protagonist.

Noa

Mae

Meanwhile, Proximus Caesar (played by Kevin Durand with motion capture) is the name of the main ape protagonist.

Proximus Caesar

The rest of the cast is as follows:

• Peter Macon – Raka, a wise and virtuous orangutan who becomes an ally of Noa.
• William H. Macy – Trevathan, a human located somewhere in Proximus Caesar’s clan.
• Travis Jeffery – Anaya, a chimpanzee and a friend of Noa.
• Lydia Peckham – Soona, a female chimpanzee and a friend of Noa.
• Neil Sandilands – Koro, Noa’s father.

That’s all, folks, Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes looks like it’s going to be one of the biggest and most epic movies of 2024, so stay tuned for our full review and other coverage soon!

Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes is slated to premiere in Malaysian cinemas on 9 May 2024.

Check out the full Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes final trailer below: