Planet of the Apes (2001 film) commissioned. Although the film was indeed a financial success, Fox decided not to proceed with a sequel. When asked whether he would be interested in working on a follow-up, director Tim Burton replied, "I'd rather jump out a window." Mark Wahlberg and Helena Bonham Carter would have returned if Burton had decided to make another "Apes" film. Paul Giamatti had been interested in reprising his role. "I think it'd be great to have apes driving cars, smoking cigars," Giamatti said. "Wearing glasses, sitting in a board room, stuff like that." "Planet of the Apes" was the last film Burton worked
Planet of the Apes Méndez. The film opened on May 26, 1970. Unlike its predecessor, "Beneath" was poorly reviewed; critics typically regard it as the worst of the "Apes" sequels other than the last, "Battle for the Planet of the Apes". Nonetheless, it was a major box office hit, nearing the original's numbers. Despite a conclusion depicting the planet's nuclear destruction, Fox requested another sequel, creating a series. Following the financial success of "Beneath", Arthur P. Jacobs recruited Paul Dehn to write a new script with a brief telegram: "Apes exist, Sequel required." Dehn immediately started work on what became "Escape from the Planet