Andy Serkis has built up his own fan base over the years following his career thanks to his appearances in the Planet of the Apes reboot series along with The Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Star Wars. Next he’ll be tackling two more of the biggest franchises in the world, directing the sequel to Venom and starring as Alfred in Matt Reeves’ The Batman. Fans are eagerly anticipating both, but how does his daughter and fellow actor Ruby Ashbourne Serkis feel? ComicBook.com asked the younger Serkis, star of the new Netflix series The Letter for the King, which she was more excited about and she had a surprising and sweet answer.
“I’m excited for Venom just because he has put quite a lot of himself into it, directing,” Serkis said of her father. “He’s really into directing that movie.”
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Production is ongoing on Venom 2 in London, a big change from the first movie which shot in Atlanta, Georgia. Tom Hardy reprises his role for the movie and will be joined by Woody Harrelson as antagonist Cletus Kasady / Carnage. The elder Serkis previously spoke about the progress of filming at the BAFTAs.
“Well, you know, I really can’t talk too much about it โ I know, boring โ but we’re 40 days into the shoot and it’s really thrilling,” Serkis told Digital Spy. “We’ve got the magnificent Tom Hardy, who’s obviously at the center of it, and we sort of see a deepening of the relationship between him and obviously there’s a nemesis character and… that’s all I can say.”
Luckily for Serkis, production on The Batman is ongoing just down the road from Venom 2 as both movies are shooting across the pond. It’s unclear how big of a role he’ll have in The Batman, but his work on set of Venom will no doubt have to take priority. Venom 2 marks Serkis’ third movie as director after 2017’s Breath and 2018’s Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, that and his work in front of the camera made him the best candidate for the job.
“He’s a great director, but also he’s an actor and he’s played inside monsters and he sort of understands character from inside.” producer Matt Tolmach previously explained. “It’s been wild to watch him with Hardy, because they speak that language that only actors understand – particularly, people like Tom Hardy, and what it’s like to be in this other character from another realm. He’s like a mystical figure, Andy Serkis, and when he’s around people you feel his presence. He was having Tom do really well, and so we got to know him, actually, through Tom. He’s going to be special. It’s a really great connection.”
Venom 2 is scheduled to open in theaters on October 2.
(Cover photo Brett Cove / Echoes Wire/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)