Charlton Heston’s Taylor was the original hero inPlanet of the Apes, but does he still exist in the current franchise timeline? Starting with the release of the first film in 1968,Planet of the Apesexplores a future in which humanity has destroyed itself, and Earth is now ruled by primates who have evolved to be the superior beings on the planet. Taking a page from author Pierre Boulle’s classic political satire novel, the first film leaned heavily into the science fiction elements, and launched a franchise that is still going strong today.
The classic films from the ’60s and ‘70sfeatured a convoluted timeline, and the introduction of time travel only made things more complicated. An attempt to remakePlanet of the Apescame from Tim Burton in 2001, but the new vision is generally regarded as a spectacular failure. Fortunately, the franchise was saved with 2011’sRise of the Planet of the Apes, which went back to the very beginning of the story and launched a prequel series. However, this reset made some big changes to the canon, and Charlton Heston’s Taylor was left in limbo.
Charlton Heston’s George Taylor Probably Doesn’t Exist In The Current Planet Of The Apes Timeline
The Changes Likely Mean That Taylor Has Been Erased
Rise of the Planet of the Apesrewrote the origins of primate dominanceon Earth, and in doing so, they likely also made it impossible for Taylor to even exist.The first prequel film takes place in the modern day, meaning 2011, which is about 40 years after Taylor’s original missionwas supposed to have launched. 1968’sPlanet of the Apesclearly mentions that Taylor and his fellow astronauts left Earth in 1972 but were lost in space for thousands of years before arriving back on the planet.
Unless Taylor’s lifetime was also shifted forward, he would likely be much too old to be on a space mission.
This detail could still have been part of the canon if not for a cheeky reference to the original film inRise of the Planet of the Apes. It’s only shown for a brief moment, but a closeup of a newspaper reveals a headline reading “Lost in Space?".This seems to suggest that the mission didn’t happen in 1972, but has been retconned to happen in 2011 instead. Unless Taylor’s lifetime was also shifted forward, he would likely be much too old to be on a space mission.
Another small Easter egg inRise of the Planet of the Apespractically erases Taylor’s existence. While Caesar is being kept at the ape shelter, the filmThe Agony and the Ecstasyis seen playing on one of the TVs. The 1960s historical drama is one of Charlton Heston’s best movies, and it was a clever way to include the iconic actor several years after his passing. However,if Charlton Heston exists in thePlanet of the Apesuniverse, it’s unlikely that his character exists as well.
How The Modern Planet Of The Apes Movies Changed The Timeline
The Prequels Rebooted The Downfall Of Humans
ThePlanet of the Apesprequel series gave the classic franchise a much-needed dose of realism, and it did that by changing some key details in the lore. 1968’sPlanet of the Apesimplied that humanity had been destroyed by some sort of nuclear war, and that was corroborated by the first sequel,Beneath the Planet of the Apes.Rise of the Planet of the Apesignored that, and insteadintroduced a virus that wiped out the bulk of humanity at the same time as a medical breakthrough which gave the apes heightened intelligence.
Charlton Heston reprised his role as Taylor inBeneath the Planet of the Apes, but only briefly.
This change is similar to the retcon thatEscape from the Planet of the Apesintroduced, and the third film in the original series was the first to make major changes to the established lore. Even back then, it’s unclear if the change in the timeline made it so that Taylor never arrived in the future.Escapetakes place in 1971, a year before Taylor’s mission was supposed to start. However, it’s unknown if Cornelius, Milo, and Zira’s timeline tinkering did to the near future on Earth.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
2011
82%
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
2014
91%
War for the Planet of the Apes
2017
94%
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
2024
80%
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apesmade quite a few references to space, and that implies that the franchise’s future might involve a visit from astronauts from the past. The newspaper headline inRisemight have been a throwaway gag, or it could have been a subtle foreshadowing of the future. However, with so many changes to the timeline, it’s unclear what thePlanet of the Apesis going to look like if humans from the past end up crash landing in the future.
