Published at: June 30, 2010, 12:45 p.m. CST by hercules
I am – Hercules!!
Andy Serkis, who played the giant monkey in “King Kong,” will now play the talking monkey in “Rise of the Apes,” Fox’s quasi-remake of “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes.”
Bow before the perfect symmetry, I say. Like Kong, Caesar will be a motion-capture CG creature brought to life by Serkis and a special effects company called Weta. I'm not even certain who would be my second choice.
Roddy McDowall wore a furry suit to play Caesar in “Conquest” and its sequel, “Battle For The Planet of the Apes.”
Caesar this time around is a chimp whose intellect is vastly enhanced when he becomes the test subject for a new Alzheimer’s treatment.
Serkis’ co-stars include James Franco (the “Spider-Man” movies), Frieda Pinto ("Slumdog Millionaire”) and John Lithgow (“Harry and the Hendersons”).
Rupert Wyatt (the well-reviewed British prison caper “The Escapist”) directs from a screenplay by Amanda Silver & Rick Jaffa ("Eye For An Eye," "The Relic").
Fox plans to release it almost exactly one year from now.
Find all of Variety’s story on the matter here.