One of the Best Sci-Fi Movies of the 21st Century Takes Place in 2026 & It Needs a New Sequel This Year

When one thinks about the best sci-fi movies to be released this century, the list of nominees is endless. Fans will mention titles such as Minority Report, Inception, Interstellar, District 9, Arrival, and more, highlighting the wide range of storytelling possibilities in the genre. Among the many acclaimed films deserving of love is the rebooted Planet of the Apes series, which started with 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a well-received box office hit that pleasantly surprised audiences. It gave way to an even bigger and better sequel: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which brilliantly built upon the foundation established in Rise to tell a complex, mature post-apocalyptic tale about two species fighting to survive in an ever-changing world.

Due to the writing, performances, and exciting action, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a masterpiece that deserves to stand aside the best sci-fi has had to offer the past 25 years. Since Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is of such high quality, there’s never a bad time to rewatch the film, but this year would be particularly fitting for another viewing. That’s because the movie’s story takes place in 2026 — and with any luck, fans will also learn some news about the next Planet of the Apes film this year.

The Planet of the Apes Franchise Needs to Continue

After the success of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (which set a franchise record with $710.6 million at the worldwide box office), two more Planet of the Apes films have been released. The first, War for the Planet of the Apes, is a direct sequel that wraps up Caesar’s story in an emotionally satisfying way. The second is a legacy sequel of sorts: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, which jumps ahead hundreds of years in the timeline to tell a new story about a different group of characters, revolving around the chimpanzee Noa. Like its predecessors, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes earned positive reviews and also performed well at the box office ($397.3 million worldwide), setting the stage for an exciting future.

Unfortunately, there hasn’t been much headway made on the next Planet of the Apes film. In late 2024, 20th Century Studios confirmed that a Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes sequel was in development, mentioning 2027 as a theoretical release window. Of course, 2025 came and went without any further developments. No production start date has been set, no casting announcements have been made, and there isn’t a director in place. If the Kingdom follow-up is going to hit theaters in 2027, things have to move forward rather soon. As a point of comparison, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was in production from October 2022 to February 2023, ahead of a May 2024 release date. Thanks to the CGI ape characters, the post-production work on these films is quite extensive.

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Ideally, 2026 will be when the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes sequel finally gains some traction. Kingdom proved that there are still interesting stories to tell in this universe, exploring the legacy of Caesar and the ever-changing human/apes dynamic in fascinating ways. Noa proved to be a strong protagonist, undergoing a journey of tremendous personal growth as he learned more about the world and established himself as a leader for his people. Not to mention, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes concluded on a bit of a cliffhanger, as Mae helped surviving humans make contact with other people. This felt like set up for future installments, especially since a lingering question that persists throughout Kingdom is whether or not humans and apes can live peacefully together. That arc hasn’t been properly resolved yet.

Planet of the Apes isn’t as big of a box office draw as some other franchises under Disney’s roof, but there remains a sizable and passionate audience for these films. It would be a shame if the studio opted to pull the plug on the series; Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was the lowest-grossing of the four films in the rebooted saga, but it wasn’t a bomb, and moviegoing habits have changed dramatically over the past decade. Especially since Kingdom was essentially a soft reboot and the first installment of a new trilogy, it arguably isn’t fair to compare it to the Caesar-led entries. Now that the new cast and story has been established, a Kingdom sequel can do what Dawn of the Planet of the Apes did years ago and expand the scope. Kingdom was one of the strongest sci-fi films of 2024, and fans deserve to see the next chapter.

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