The upcoming sequel to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will tie the modern reboot franchise with the original Planet of the Apes movie series in one important way. The ending of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes set up an exciting storyline for a future movie to continue. Noa became the leader of the Eagle Clan, a major development in the war between the ape factions, and Mae discovered a hidden colony full of intelligent humans with the technology and resources to communicate with other humans around the world.

In a recent interview, 20th Century Studios president Steve Asbell provided some tantalizing updates on the company’s slate. He confirmed that a sequel to Alien: Romulus is in development to continue Rain and Andy’s story, he teased that more Predator movies and Agatha Christie adaptations are on the way, and he announced that the next Planet of the Apes movie will arrive in 2027. The sequel to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is more significant to the larger saga than it might seem.

Planet Of The Apes’ Modern Saga Will Match The Original Franchise In Number Of Movies

Both Planet Of The Apes Series Now Have 5 Movies

With the forthcoming sequel to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the Planet of the Apes reboot series will finally match the movie count of the original saga. The original run of Planet of the Apes movies, beginning in 1968, consisted of five movies: Planet of the Apes, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, and Battle for the Planet of the Apes. Tim Burton’s 2001 movie is a standalone remake in its own bizarre continuity.

The rebooted saga began in 2011 with Rise of the Planet of the Apes. It was followed by two direct sequels: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes in 2014 and War for the Planet of the Apes in 2017. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes picks up 300 years after the events of the trilogy, but it is a continuation of the same story. When Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ sequel is released in 2027, this reboot series will have the same number of movies as the original saga.

Are The Modern Planet Of The Apes Movies Set In The Same Universe As The Original Films?

It’s Complicated

The question of whether the modern Planet of the Apes movies take place in the same universe as the original films is complicated. They are described as prequels, and they are building up to that world; they even retconned the character of Nova so that they wouldn’t contradict the original film. But the way the “planet of the apes” began in the new franchise had nothing to do with a time-traveling ape going back and changing history, which suggests that Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and its predecessors are in a totally different timeline.