"Monkey Planet" - Pierre Boulle's light-hearted science fiction satire featuring a society of intelligent apes and savage humans - was published in 1963. Producer Arthur P Jacobs saw the possibilities and immediately bought the rights.

He pitched the idea to various Hollywood studios, without success. Prospects changed when he cast Charlton Heston in the lead role of astronaut Taylor. Test shootings, featuring Edward G Robinson in orang-utan make-up, proved successful, convincing 20th Century Fox to go ahead with the film.

"Planet of the Apes" was a huge box office hit. Playing on themes of cold war paranoia and the threat of nuclear annihilation, it stuck a powerful chord. Once seen, the film's ending is never forgotten.

A sequel was inevitable. "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" went ahead with Charlton Heston returning in a cameo role. The ending explicitly ruled out further sequels, but the box office said otherwise.

Three more films followed. The film makers, well aware of the series' allegorical possibilities, touched on such themes as racial tension and American consumerism.

Showings on US TV gained high ratings, prompting Fox to make a TV series. Unfortunately it was not a success and folded after fourteen episodes. A short-lived cartoon series suffered the same fate.

There matters stood until Fox decided to revive the series. Various big names, including Arnold Schwarzenegger and director James Cameron, were linked with the project. In 2000, Tim Burton signed as a director.

The new film, according to producer Richard Zanuck, is less a remake, more a 're-imagining'. With Burton at the helm, and the current enthusiasm for all things simian and retro, the film is virtually guaranteed to be a blockbuster.

See our "Planet of the Apes" mini-site.