Andy Serkis Had a Major Influence on the Making of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Summary

• Andy Serkis, known for his motion capture work, played a major role in the upcoming film
  Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
  , providing advice and guidance during development.
• Serkis’ portrayal of the ape leader Caesar and his progression in communication influenced the director as he aims to follow the previous trilogy while bridging the gap to the original 1960s film.
• Serkis led ape-training sessions for the new cast, teaching them how to “be an ape” and discussing the challenges of authenticity while working with motion capture technology.

War for the Planet of the Apes star and motion capture maestro Andy Serkis may not be playing a character in the upcoming Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, but he played a huge role in the movie, according to director Wes Ball. Coming courtesy of Collider, Ball reveals how Serkis has majorly influenced this year’s sequel/prequel, with Ball asking his advice during development.

“I had worked with Andy [previously]. I got to know Andy a little bit previously on the previous movie. And Matt [Reeves, director of the previous two films] would always say, he’s the best actor I’ve ever worked with. We thought early on that it would be cool to bring Andy in to play another character, that would be pretty awesome. I talked to Andy a lot. I showed him the script. Told him what the ideas were. I talked to him, showed him the concept art, all this kind of stuff. And like, “Am I getting this right? Is this going to feel blah, blah, blah?” I want to do something a little different. They’re going to talk more in this movie.”

While it seems Ball did want Serkis to play a new character in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (something that could come as a crowd-pleasing surprise upon the movie’s release), Ball went on to reveal how Serkis’ portrayal of the ape leader Caesar throughout the stages of his life, particularly in how he communicates influenced the filmmaker as he attempts to follow Matt Reeves trilogy while bringing things ever-closer to the 1960s original.

“Even in the previous three movies, you kind of see the progression. And the first one, oh! And that’s about it. And then the second one, he’s talking a little bit more. And the third one, they’re kind of saying full-on sentences. And so we kind of extrapolate from there. And we just, we got to start making that march towards the ’68 version where they’re just sitting around having dinner parties. So we very much kind of, you know, try to hold onto, there’s a cadence to the speech. It is not just fluid and perfect, and it’s maybe a little bit off and they do still sign at times, you know, so we try to find that sweet spot.”

RELATED: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Unveils New Images, Is Set 300 Years After Caesar’s Story

Andy Serkis Helped the New Cast Become Apes

Serkis, who has become well-renowned for his skills with mo-cap, led the ape-training sessions for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, with the actor teaching the new cast to “be an ape.”

“Andy was crucial in sitting with us and talking about how we stay true to the spirit of things while still carving our own path. But also I was like, dude, this stuff is so valuable, what you’re talking about. And like, I’ve got a bunch of actors, like Andy at this point, when he made, when he had made Apes, he’d already made Gollum, King Kong, he’s like a veteran on mocap at this point. And all of our actors here, no one has ever done this before, it’s totally new to them. So I asked Andy if he could come talk to the gang and give them some pointers and he was like “say no more.”

I mean Andy’s like seriously the nicest freaking guy ever. So generous and just kind and just supportive. He talked to all the actors and just told them what he had learned. Our big thing is, you can’t pretend to be an ape. You have to be an ape. And that’s hard for actors when you’re walking around with these silly suits and you’re making ape noises. You look ridiculous and like how do you just get past that, and just do it and be authentic while doing so? I think it was a real journey and struggle for all the guys at first. But they went through six weeks of “ape camp” essentially where they just improvised, and they freaking loved it.”

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
is scheduled to be released by 20th Century Studios on May 10, 2024. You can check out the new trailer below.

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