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) to a sequel, "but not a sequel to the fifth film, an alternate sequel to the first film". He took influences from "Spartacus", with the storyline being "the ape empire had reached its Roman era. A descendant of Charlton Heston's character named Duke would eventually lead a human slave revolt against the oppressive Roman-esque apes, led by General Izan. A real sword and sandal spectacular, monkey style. "Gladiator" did the same movie without the ape costumes." Titled "Return to the Planet of the Apes", the project was put on fast track and almost entered pre-production. Rick Baker was hired to