Andy Serkis is no stranger to big blockbuster films. In just the past six months we’ve seen him as the terrifying leader of the First Order, Supreme Leader Snoke, in Star Wars: The Last Jedi and as the vibranium thief Ulysses Klaue in Black Panther. Over the course of his ever growing career, Serkis has become a master of playing characters via motion capture. Snoke is the most recent, but before that he played Golem in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the intelligent ape Caesar in the newest Planet of the Apes trilogy.
The important thing about his Caesar role is it has a direct connection to Batman, for Matt Reeves, who is slated to direct the next solo Batman film, directed the last two Apes films, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes. When asked if Serkis had an interest in joining Reeves in the DC Universe, he had this to say:
“Oh, for sure! I mean, I’d go to the edge of the created universe with Matt [Reeves]. I mean, he’s the most brilliant director. I would work with anything with him again, y’know, I mean, I absolutely adore him and we’re very good friends, close friends, and I think he’s an extraordinary director so for sure.”
This is where the fun begins. Trying to cast a role for Andy Serkis in a Batman film. Traditionally, he seems to gravitate to more villainous roles and we know that Batman has no shortage of enemies. Serkis also gravitates towards CGI characters, which he does the motion capture work for, but Black Panther and Age of Ultron proved that doesn’t always have to be the case.
If Reeves and Serkis decide to go down the CGI villain route, I’d put my money on either Clayface of Man-Bat. Two villains we haven’t seen on film before and both with a little tragedy in their story that Serkis can bring out in his performance. Personally, I’d lean more towards Man-Bat, that way Serkis can play both Kirk Langstrom and the creature in the same film.
If we’re going a more practical route with the villains, I’d love to see Serkis as Scarface and Ventriloquist. He would make an excellent Arnold Wesker and has the vocal range to be able to play the voice of the dummy as well.
What say you? What Batman role would you like to see Andy Serkis play if he were to reunite with Matt Reeves? Let us know!
