The Planet of the Apes is coming to Hulu.
The latest installment in the long-running sci-fi franchise, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, will begin streaming there next month. Released to theaters earlier in the spring, the latest continuation of the saga earned $170 million in the U.S. and almost $400 million worldwide. That currently makes it the seventh-biggest hit in the United States in 2024.
Hulu is currently the streaming service to pay for if you like Apes movies. They have every single film in the franchise starting with 1968’s Planet of the Apes, continuing through the final Battle for the Planet of the Apes in 1973, the Tim Burton Planet of the Apes (but don’t hold that against them), plus all three previous film in the Caesar trilogy of Apes movies: Rise, Dawn, and War for the Planet of the Apes.
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The new film is set decades after War for the Planet of the Apes, and sees what has become of both ape and human civilizations following the big conflict in that movie, and the sacrifice of the great ape leader Caesar. And … it’s pretty good! Perhaps not quite as impressive as the Caesar films but a very solid entertainment. As I wrote in my review at the time…
The Apes movies often contemplate the inescapable nature of destiny; despite their heroes’ best efforts to change their ways, they invariably wind up back on the same path, and humanity (and ape kind) seem doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over. I suppose in that sense the stink of a retread hanging over Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ ending is, ironically, in keeping with that spirit. And there are some scenes here as lively and as thoughtful as any in this great series’ history. But then that final sequence reminds viewers that this is a franchise still thinking about the way things were, and not with the way things are — or could be in the future.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes begins streaming on Hulu on August 2.
Forgotten Movie Sequels
Although few of them are remembered well (or at all) these sequels all exist.
Gallery Credit: Josh Spiegel