<P> Especially after the 1990s, artists in diverse media referenced, incorporated, or were otherwise influenced by the series . Planet of the Apes turned up in songs by various musicians, allusions in films, comedy bits by Dennis Miller and Paul Mooney, and an episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Charlton Heston . The Simpsons parodied the series several times . In particular, the episode "A Fish Called Selma" features the washed - up actor Troy McClure starring in a Broadway musical adaptation called Stop the Planet of the Apes, I Want to Get Off! Artist Martha Rosler incorporated footage of Cornelius and Zira's interrogation from Escape in her installation "Global Taste: A Meal in Three Courses", while Guillermo Gómez - Peña and Coco Fusco employed video from Planet in a 1993 performance art piece at the Whitney Museum of American Art . </P> <P> The series' impact has extended to the political sphere, and groups of various leanings have employed its themes and imagery in their discourse . The phrase "planet of the apes" has been used for an overturning of the political or racial status quo . Eric Greene writes that it is especially popular among racial nationalists and reactionaries of different stripes . According to Greene, white supremacists liken minority advancement to the films' world in which supposed "inferiors" seize control, while black nationalists subvert the reference to celebrate the "racial apocalypse"; in this spirit, gangsta rap group Da Lench Mob titled their 1994 album Planet of da Apes . Greene writes that these uses invert the anti-racist message of the films . Planet's final image of the ruined Statue of Liberty has become a common political reference; for example, Greenpeace used it in an advertising campaign against nuclear testing . The series' themes and imagery have been invoked in political discussions on topics as varied as Sixties culture, urban decay, contemporary wars, and gun violence . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Number </Th> <Th> Title </Th> <Th> Release date </Th> <Th> Director </Th> <Th> Continuity </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="5"> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Planet of the Apes </Td> <Td> April 3, 1968 </Td> <Td> Franklin J. Schaffner </Td> <Td> Original series </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Beneath the Planet of the Apes </Td> <Td> May 27, 1970 </Td> <Td> Ted Post </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Escape from the Planet of the Apes </Td> <Td> May 21, 1971 </Td> <Td> Don Taylor </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Conquest of the Planet of the Apes </Td> <Td> June 29, 1972 </Td> <Td> J. Lee Thompson </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 5 </Td> <Td> Battle for the Planet of the Apes </Td> <Td> June 15, 1973 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="5"> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 6 </Td> <Td> Planet of the Apes </Td> <Td> July 27, 2001 </Td> <Td> Tim Burton </Td> <Td> Remake </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="5"> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 7 </Td> <Td> Rise of the Planet of the Apes </Td> <Td> August 5, 2011 </Td> <Td> Rupert Wyatt </Td> <Td> Reboot series </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 8 </Td> <Td> Dawn of the Planet of the Apes </Td> <Td> July 11, 2014 </Td> <Td> Matt Reeves </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 9 </Td> <Td> War for the Planet of the Apes </Td> <Td> July 14, 2017 </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th> Number </Th> <Th> Title </Th> <Th> Release date </Th> <Th> Director </Th> <Th> Continuity </Th> </Tr>

How many planet of the ape films are there