Planet of the Apes Movies: The Mixed-Up, Crazy Timeline Explained

Learn why the Planet of the Apes movies can’t ever connect to the classic movies as we explain the sprawling Planet of the Apes timeline. Every time we get a trailer for a new Planet of the Apes movie, people wonder just where the latest film in the venerable series takes place in the Apes timeline. From the Andy Serkis trilogy to the original movies to various other offshoots, this is a franchise that spans thousands of years. And not just that, but it also takes place over a variety of timelines. Basically, the chronology of the Planet of the Apes movies is a total mess, totally crazy, but also – and this is the most important part – totally awesome. So with the latest film in the series, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, now here, let’s board the spaceship Icarus and blast off as we try to explain… the mixed-up, crazy Planet of the Apes movies timeline. Ahhhh, where to start, where to start? It’s a complicated question when you’re dealing with a cyclical, if ever-evolving, chronology whe