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) director before Phillip Noyce was hired in January 1995, while pre-production was nearing commencement with a $100 million budget. Stone first approached Rick Baker, who worked on Rifkin's failed remake, to design the prosthetic makeup, but eventually hired Stan Winston. Fox became frustrated by the distance between their approach and Hayes' interpretation of Stone's ideas. As producer Don Murphy put it, "Terry wrote a "Terminator" and Fox wanted "The Flintstones"". Fox studio executive Dylan Sellers felt the script could be improved by comedy. "What if Robinson finds himself in Ape land and the Apes are trying to play baseball? But