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 In 2018, Boom! released a graphic novel, "Planet of the Apes: Visionaries", adapted from Rod Serling's film scripts by Dana Gould and Chad Lewis. The series, and particularly the live-action "Apes" television show and the "Return to the Planet of the Apes" cartoon, generated numerous toy and merchandising tie-ins. During the 1970s, Fox licensed around 60 companies to produce about 300 different "Apes" products, including action figures and playsets, model building kits, coloring books, book-and-record sets, trading cards, toy weapons, costumes, apparel, branded tableware, and lunch boxes. This level of merchandising was unusual for the time, and the success of