Egan carefully unpicks the frayed strands in his well-researched history, showing how Apes trailblazed for series-orientated genre cinema, the digi-revolution and more. Page-to-screen origins, unmade versions (from Rod Serling to Peter Jackson) and spin-offs are all given attention. Alert to the franchise’s continuity and consistency quagmires, Egan also treats Tim Burton’s take generously and the 2011-17 trilogy warmly, making for an upstanding primates primer.