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For the 1968 movie astronaut character, see John Landon.

You wouldn't be trying to entrap me, would you? Well... I can't say I approve. They're not people, you know.
John Landon to Will Rodman[src]

John Landon was the owner of the San Bruno Primate Shelter and the father of the late Dodge Landon.

Biography[]

Rise of the Planet of the Apes[]

Landon ran the San Bruno Primate Shelter where Caesar was incarcerated following his attack on Douglas Hunsiker. After touring Will Rodman and Caroline Aranha around the premises, John was told by them that Caesar hadn't spent any time with other apes but John assured them that he would be skittish at first but would soon integrate him among the other apes, promising that the environment would be stimulating. Unknown to John, the apes inside the facility were treated cruelly by his son, Dodge Landon, who worked as a guard there. On their first visit back to the shelter, Will suspected that Caesar was being mistreated and insisted that he would take Caesar home, but John warned him that it couldn't happen without a court order.

Sometime later, John was bribed with an envelope full of cash in hundreds or thousands of dollars by Will and he permitted Will to take Caesar home. However, Caesar realized that if he left the facility the other apes would continue to be abused by Dodge, so he shut the cage door and refused to come home with Will. This prompted John to say that Caesar perhaps preferred to stay with the other apes at the facility than go home.

Days later, John called it a day at work after having had enough of Dodge's bickering with Rodney, noticing that Caesar was rallying his newly evolved apes to his ideals, but John thought nothing of it and moved on. That same day, Caesar later led an escape from the shelter which resulted in Dodge's death. Later, John, along with Will, Caroline, and a police team watched a CCTV recording showing the death of his son.

Personality[]

Although John was blind or ignorant to what was going on in the shelter, he was nicer than his son, Dodge Landon. Also unlike his son, he had good manners; as evident by the fact that he allowed Will and Caroline to bring Caesar into the shelter without any restraints. However, John was also a weary and no-nonsense person as seen when breaking up conflicts Dodge started between Will and Rodney, leaving the shelter after feeling he got more peace at home than in the ape shelter.

Although John loved Dodge, this did not mean that he gave Dodge any special treatment. If John found out that Dodge mistreated the apes, he would not hesitate to fire his own son. But he was completely unaware of Dodge's cruel and sadistic nature until he watched the video from a CCTV recording showing Dodge's death.

Behind the Scenes[]

  • In the original filmed climax to the movie, Landon followed Will into the forest with a shotgun and Will was shot by John in attempt to protect Caesar. Landon was then killed by the apes and Koba took Landon's gun. A test audience was shown this ending and reacted negatively, and so a different ending was shot on July 4 weekend, 2011, in Griffith Park, with a slightly more positive feel.
  • Danny DeVito, Michael Douglas, and Kevin Dunn were considered for the role of John.

Trivia[]

  • John Landon's name is taken from John Landon, one of George Taylor's astronaut crew-members in the original Planet of the Apes, played by Robert Gunner.
  • Listings on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) prior to the movie's release gave this character's name as "Hank Landon".
  • There is another John in the movie who was the chief of the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD).
  • It is likely that; John died from the Simian Flu sometime during the Simian Flu Pandemic.

Gallery[]

References[]

Rise of the Planet of the Apes Q & A Podcast - The Q&A with Jeff Goldsmith (December 13, 2011)


Planet of the Apes - Chernin Entertainment Series
Planet of the Apes (CE) Movies
Rise of the Planet of the Apes | Dawn of the Planet of the Apes | War for the Planet of the Apes | Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Main Evolved Ape Characters
Caesar | Bright Eyes | Koba | Maurice | Rocket | Buck | Cornelia | Blue Eyes | Luca | Ash | Cornelius | Winter | Lake | Bad Ape | Red | Noa | Soona | Anaya | Raka | Koro | Proximus Caesar | Coastal Ape Colony Gorilla
Supporting Ape Characters
Alpha | Burke | Verdon | Tinker | Grey | Stone | Andy | Wolfie | Jeanpierre | Lucky | Koba's Mother | Sparrow | Pope | Fifer | Cora | Rex | Bon | Dallas | Milo | Herman | Spear | Ajax | Oak | Fox | Aghoo | Ursus | Percy | Beardface | Armando
Main Human Characters
Will Rodman | Charles Rodman | Caroline Aranha | Robert Franklin | Steven Jacobs | Dodge Landon | John Landon | Douglas Hunsiker | Malcolm | Ellie | Alexander | Dreyfus | Carver | Foster | Colonel McCullough | Nova | Mae
Supporting Human Characters
Rodney | John Hamil | Rita | Sarah | Maddy | John | Edward | Roger Mason | Werner | Kemp | Clancy Stoppard | Corbin | Daniel Nygun | David Flynn | Finney | Kuo | Malakai Youmans | Max (Firestorm) | McVeigh | Terry | Roger | Rod Wilson | Preacher | Boyle | Lang | Travis
Families
Rodman Family | Caesar's Family | Malcolm's Family | Rocket's Family | Dreyfus' Family
Animals
Horse | Elk | Grizzly Bear | Eagle
Items / Weapons
Simian Flu
Important Events / Battles
Ape Rebellion | Human-Ape War | Simian Flu Pandemic | Battle on the Golden Gate Bridge | Battle in San Francisco | Battle of Muir Woods Park | Attack on Ape Waterfall | Battle of the Border
Organizations / Colonies / Companies
San Francisco Ape Colony | Caesar's Council of Apes | Caesar's Ape Army | Gen-Sys Board | San Francisco's Human Colony | Dreyfus' Human Army | Malcolm's Group | Alpha-Omega | Donkeys | Florida Ape Colony | Rocky Mountains Ape Colony | Eagle Clan | Coastal Ape Colony
Locations
West African Jungle | San Francisco | San Francisco Zoo | Gen-Sys Laboratories | Rodman House | San Bruno Primate Shelter | Golden Gate Bridge | Muir Woods Park | Ape Mountain | Ape Gate | Ape Village | Caesar's Home | Warehouse | Ape Waterfall | The Border | Oasis
Comics
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (webcomic) | Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Contagion | Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (BOOM! Studios) | Before the Dawn | War for the Planet of the Apes (BOOM! Studios) | Planet of the Apes: The Time of Man | Planet of the Apes: The Simian Age | Planet of the Apes: Devolution
Novels
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Firestorm | Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - Official Movie Novelization | War for the Planet of the Apes: Revelations | War for the Planet of the Apes - Official Movie Novelization | Caesar’s Story
Other Books
Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: The Art of the Films
Soundtracks
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Soundtrack Album) | Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Soundtrack Album) | War for the Planet of the Apes (Soundtrack Album)
Video Games
Plague Inc: Simian Flu | Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier | Crisis on the Planet of the Apes VR
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