Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a 2011 American science fiction action film directed by Rupert Wyatt and starring James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, David Oyelowo, and Andy Serkis.

Written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, it is 20th Century Fox‘s reboot of the Planet of the Apes series, intended to act as an origin story for a new series of films. Its premise is similar to the fourth film in the original series, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972), but it is not a direct remake of that film. In the film, a substance designed to help the brain repair itself gives advanced intelligence to a chimpanzee named Caesar, who leads an ape uprising.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes was released on August 5, 2011, to critical and commercial success. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Visual Effects. It was also nominated for five Saturn Awards including Best Director for Wyatt and Best Writing for Jaffa and Silver, winning Best Science Fiction Film, Best Supporting Actor for Serkis and Best Special Effects. Serkis’s performance as Caesar was widely acclaimed, earning him many nominations from associations which do not usually recognize performance capture as traditional acting.

A sequel to the film, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, was released on July 11, 2014 and a third film, War for the Planet of the Apes, was released on July 14, 2017.