The only thing that could make a franchise trickier than sequels, reboots, and remakes is, well, time travel. So with that in mind, let’s look at apes, robots, and mutants, and try to sort through the continuity when time travel plays a part of the narrative.
PLANET OF THE APES
1. Planet of the Apes (1968)
2. Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
3. Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) - This film and the subsequent two sequels serve as both sequels and prequels to first film.
4. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
5. Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)
6. Planet of the Apes (1974; tv series) - Set 10 years after original film, ignoring Beneath and the pre-sequels)
7. Planet of the Apes (2001; remake)
8. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) - The start of reboot trilogy that may or may not sync back up to the first film, per a cameo of the Icarus launch.
9. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
10. War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)
TERMINATOR
1. The Terminator (1984)
2. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
3. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
4. Terminator: Salvation (2009) - By going far enough into the future, this sequel becomes a prequel to first film and more or less closes the loop on this particular version of the storyline.
5. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008-09; tv series) - What do you call a sequel reboot? A seboot? Requel? Either way, this 2-season series ignores T3 and picks up after the events of T2.
6. Terminator: Genisys (2015) - One could argue that alterations to the timeline in the first three films created this new timeline, but going off of the story presented on screen, stuff happens that can’t be reconciled with the events of T2 and T3, so it’s a new sequel to the original.
7. Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) - Take 2 of a T2 sequel reboot.
X-MEN
1. X-Men (2000)
2. X2: X-Men United (2003)
3. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
4. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) - Reviled and pretty much ignored since release.
5. X-Men: First Class (2011) - Prequel to X-Men, but already showing signs of continuity seams tearing.
6. The Wolverine (2013)
7. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - Set in two time periods, it manages to follow up both X3/The Wolverine and First Class, while also ensuring there will never be a single cohesive timeline. For that reason, it’s the apex film in the series.
8. Deadpool (2016) - Winks and hints point to Deadpool being in the present day of the Apocalypse/Dark Phoenix timeline, but never officially confirmed.
9. X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
10. Legion (2017-19; tv series) - Other than using a prop of Apocalypse, no direct relation to the films, but also nothing too contradictory given that the films contradict each other.
11. Logan (2017) - The end of the line for Wolverine, meaningfully connecting back to the first X-Men film.
12. The Gifted (2017-19; tv series) - According to this interview, the showrunner Matt Nix explained the series was set in the original timeline that then got erased by Days of Future Past.
13. Deadpool 2 (2018)
14. Dark Phoenix (2019)
15. The New Mutants (2020) - Okay, I still haven’t seen this one. Early in its creation, it was going to be more directly connected to the Apocalypse/Dark Phoenix timeline, so let’s just say it is.
16. Generation X (1996; tv movie) - Predating the whole film series was this made-for-tv gem. It used the same mansion as some of the films, so maybe it could be part of the original timeline?
Basically, the closest thing to a coherent storyline is Wolverine’s arc from X-Men 1-3 to The Wolverine to Days of Future Past to Logan. It’s not perfect, but makes sense when you squint.
Speaking of squinting, when you turn this graphic upside down, it kinda looks like a hand flipping the middle finger, which feels oddly appropriate.