Planet of the Apes (1968 film) was well received by critics and audiences, launching a film franchise, including four sequels, as well as a short-lived television show, animated series, comic books, and various merchandising. In particular, Roddy McDowall had a long-running relationship with the "Apes" series, appearing in four of the original five films (absent, apart from a brief voiceover, from the second film of the series, "Beneath the Planet of the Apes", in which he was replaced by David Watson in the role of Cornelius), and also in the television series. The original series was followed by Tim Burton's remake "Planet of the Apes" in
Planet of the Apes (2001 film) of the script bore little resemblance to the book, but a lot of the stuff in the second half comes directly from it, or directly inspired by it." Hamm's script had an ape astronaut from another planet crash-landing in New York Harbor, launching a virus that will make human beings extinct. Dr. Susan Landis, who works for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Alexander Troy, an Area 51 scientist, use the ape's spacecraft to return to the virus' planet of origin, hoping to find an antidote. They find an urban environment where apes armed with heavy weapons hunt