If ever there was perfect casting then it’s Andy Serkis for Caesar, the leader of the Ape uprising in 20th Century Fox’s prequel Rise of the Apes.
Stepping back into his motion capture body suit Rise of the Apes will reunite Serkis with his WETA chums, who are responsible for rendering the ‘photo-realistic’ apes in this present day sequel.
While the decision to eschew the more conventional physical make up apes may have raised some hairy eyebrows, it will certainly act to distance this film from the last foray into the Apes universe courtesy of Tim Burton.
Serkis will join the cast which include John Lithgow and Freida Pinto as well as James Franco, who will play the scientist who attempts to stand between the warring factions of simian and human kind and say ‘Stop’.
Filming is said to start next month, with Rupert Wyatt taking control and I’m very keen to see how this one plays out – and I wasn’t among those who hated Burton’s take on the series.
Serkis recently made the rounds at Cannes, trumpeting his UK based performance capture studio The Imaginarium, and if his work with Peter Jackson hasn’t cemented his position as one of the world’s foremost proponents of the art of motion capture then this new role will only add to this. Hopefully we’ll start to see The Imaginarium popping up in the news soon.
This piece of news was delivered by the Variety stork.
