Marvel has announced a new miniseries by writer Marc Guggenheim and artist Álvaro López that will go back to the very beginnings of the franchise. Beware the Planet of the Apes will be a four-issue prequel to the original 1968 film Planet of the Apes, following the scientists Cornelius and Zira as they turn to a human woman (later to be named Nova) to help them find their missing nephew Lucius. The first issue will be released on January 3, 2024, with a cover by Taurin Clarke.

“I’ve been entertained and intrigued by Planet of the Apes ever since I got a Mego Doctor Zaius doll as a birthday present, and my local television station ran the original pentalogy every afternoon for a week in the summertime,” said Guggenheim in a statement accompanying the announcement. “In many ways, Apes is one of the OG franchises, filled with mystery, fascinating characters, and some truly off-the-wall surprises. That’s the spirit I’m working to evoke with Beware the Planet of the Apes. I’m particularly excited that we’re going to be reusing some of Doug Moench, George Tuska, and Alfredo Alcala’s original Marvel work on Adventures on the Planet of the Apes as a part of our storytelling.”

Marvel launched a new Planet of the Apes series in April 2023 (see “Marvel’s Updated ‘Planet of the Apes’ to Be Set in Same World as Movies”).