Silver Screen Collection/Moviepix/Getty ImagesOf all the long-running science fiction movie franchises, perhaps the most durable is also one of the goofiest. Since 1968, Planet of the Apes movies have delighted hardcore sci-fi fans and casual moviegoers alike. The secret to the success of the franchise is oddly found in its constant reinvention. Each Apes film is radically different from the previous one, and it’s safe to say no other sci-fi franchise has taken swings as wild as the Apes movies. (After all, what other series of movies destroys the entire Earth in its second installment and then figures out a way to keep going after that?)But for the casual viewer, the number of films in the franchise (nine and counting) might make the watchability of these films a daunting task. Where should you start? How many Apes timelines are there? Which films are the best? Here’s our guide to different watch orders for the Planet of the Apes movies, all tailor-made for the various canons, viewer sensibilities, and fun. Mild spoilers ahead.Planet of the Apes Release OrderTaylor (Charlton Heston) and his replacement time-traveling astronaut, Brent (James Franciscus), in Beneath the Planet of the Apes. | Silver Screen Collection/Moviepix/Getty ImagesOne simple way to watch the entire franchise would be in the order in which the movies were released. This is probably the least fun way, but if you’re viewing your Apes watch as a kind of cultural research, this order will reveal a lot. First, it shows the various pivots and risks the franchise took along the way, as well as some of its safer-bet retreats. The release order also reveals shifting tastes in quirky sci-fi movies, for both audiences and the people behind the camera.The Planet of the Apes release order looks like this: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)Planet of the Apes TV series (1974)Planet of the Apes (reboot, 2001)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, First Timeline Zira and Cornelius on present-day Earth. | Silver Screen Collection/Moviepix/Getty ImagesThe big twist at the end of the first film is that the alien planet dominated by intelligent apes is actually a version of Earth in the distant future, roughly in the year 3978. In the second film, that future version of Earth is utterly destroyed by a doomsday bomb. This causes the next two films to be time-travel origin stories of how the Planet of the Apes came to be. Escape depicts Cornelius, Zira, and Dr. Milo traveling back to the present day (1973), which leads to the birth of Cornelius and Zira’s child, who will eventually be known as Caesar.It’s in Escape that it’s made clear that everything about this Apes timeline is the result of a predestination paradox: Caesar is destined to create the present-day uprising, which actually happens in the next film, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. And in terms of the first timeline, you can pretty much stop right there. Those first four films tell a complete story, and the watch order would look like this: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)Why omit the fifth and final of the classic films from this watch order, Battle for the Planet of the Apes? That’s why there’s a second watch order for these movies.Planet of the Apes, Second Timeline, With Battle TwistApes and humans search for peace in Battle for the Planet of the Apes. | United Archives/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesConquest took place in a fictional 1991, and showed a world in which cats and dogs had died out. This resulted in apes becoming the go-to domesticated pet of choice for the human race, which put the super-intelligent Caesar in the role of a resistance leader. The apes, of course, weren’t pets, but rather, a kind of slave labor class of people on Earth, which leads to their utterly understandable revolt at the end of Conquest, which, we’re led to believe simply results in the status quo of the future that we saw in the first film.But then, the final film, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, did something odd. We’re shown a future, roughly 600 years after the events of the film, in which humans and apes are trying to live together in peace. Does this work with the world of the 3900s, in which humans are savages and the apes are in charge? Chronologically, yes, it does. But Battle’s pseudo-happy ending also undercuts some of the power and completeness of Conquest. Technically, the future of the original Apes can still come to pass, but Battle sort of walks back the brutality of Conquest and faintly suggests another future is possible.For this reason, you can leave it off your original watch, but if you want to get the complete feeling of the timeline, you can watch this one last.So that watch order would look like this: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)Planet of the Apes, Time Travel Watch Order Just before the rise of apes in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. | United Archives/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesBecause the events of later films are secretly the origin of the early films, you could watch the first five classic movies in chronological order of events on the planet Earth. So, that would look like this:Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)Planet of the Apes (1968)Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)Technically, you could start this watch order with the first scenes from the 1968 movie, since Taylor and the astronauts are briefly in the present. But, because Escape is where the time paradox takes hold, that’s the real “beginning” of the story, from a certain point of view.Tim Burton's 2001 Apes Movie and the TV Series The 2001 one reboot of Planet of the Apes is lost to time, in more ways than one. | Denny Keeler/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesThe 1974 Planet of the Apes TV series sidesteps much of the actual continuity of the films, but does attempt to recreate it. That said, it’s hard to imagine watching it in between any of the original films and having that make much sense. For this reason, it’s kind of its own, isolated watch order, similar to the relationship between the movie Logan’s Run (1976) and the TV show Logan’s Run (1977). Basically, the Apes TV show is like a remake, so it has its own timeline.This thinking is also true of the 2001 Tim Burton Planet of the Apes, in which the titular planet is literally an alien world. Interestingly, this concept is closer to the 1963 original novel by Pierre Boulle. If you squinted, you could argue that the ending of the 2001 Apes provides an alternate origin story for the 1968 film, if only because the movie ends with the history of Earth having been changed, and apes ruling everything. That said, the 2001 Apes movie has little in common with the classic series, which means it’s also its own separate timeline.Current Reboot Apes Timeline Starting with the 2011 film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the franchise told an entirely new origin story for the far-future setting made famous in 1968. In this version, no time paradox was required; instead, a super-intelligent ape named Caesar eventually rises to power, while at the same time, a virus ravages humanity. But the second film, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the status quo of Earth in 2026, isn’t too different than what we saw in Battle, only this time, the Apes are very much starting to win. What carries over from the classic films, and Battle in particular, is Caesar’s desire for peace and hope that apes and humans will leave each other alone. By War for the Planet of the Apes, things take a dark turn, with various factions of apes fighting each other, and humans, too. This movie ends the trilogy of films that began with Rise, and, again, creates a kind of way for one to imagine a version of the 1968 movie existing, sans the time travel origin story. Here’s what that watch order looks like, complete with the newest film, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, a sideways sequel to War for the Planet of the Apes: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)One interesting note here. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes takes place generations after the end of the events of War, and is, of all the modern Apes movies, the closest to the 1968 original. The twist is here, instead of focusing on humans discovering the planet of the apes, it’s more about apes discovering that humans still exist. So, in a sense, you could watch the three new films and then watch Kingdom. But, there’s certainly an argument that you can watch Kingdom on its own, as it represents a kind of soft reboot for the entire journey.Where to Stream the Planet of the Apes MoviesThe first five classic Apes movies are available for rental on Amazon, iTunes, YouTube, and elsewhere. The 2001 reboot, Planet of the Apes, is available for rental on Amazon, iTunes, YouTube, and elsewhere. 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes is on HBO Max.Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) are available for rental on Amazon, iTunes, YouTube, and elsewhere. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is on Hulu.