Actor Andy Serkis was a seminal part of what the most recent trilogy of Planet of the Apes films managed to pull off, as his motion-capture performance of Caesar immersed audiences in the world of the visual-effects-heavy franchise, with star of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Owen Teague recalling the helpful advice Serkis passed on to him. Teague pointed out how the biggest hurdle Serkis faced was getting accustomed to the motion-capture outfit, but once he did, the rest of his performance came organically, which Teague pointed out as being exactly right. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes currently has a release date of May 24, 2024.
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“Well, we all talked to Andy Serkis. He and I had a meeting, and he was part of why I became an actor,” Teague recalled to The Hollywood Reporter. “So this was something that I’d been wanting to do my entire life, and it was literally a dream come true to get to do this job and play this character. The hardest part about it was just learning how to be in a suit all day and have a camera strapped to your head. But you get used to it after about a week, and I remember Andy being like, ‘You’ll get used to it and you’ll stop worrying about it after the first week.’ And he was absolutely right.”
He continued, “The rest of motion capture is just what you would do otherwise, and the difference between a human and whatever you’re playing just becomes a costume, so you don’t even really think about it that much. It’s just acting and it’s no different. So I took to it very quickly and very happily, and it’s something that I’d like to do a lot more of. So I hope I get to, because I really enjoy it. It’s actually freeing. It’s the fun of acting boiled down to the very essence of what it is. You get to be anything you want, and it doesn’t have to be even remotely similar to what you are in real life. So you just have to put yourself in that being and exist. It was wonderful.”
While Serkis isn’t part of the new project in an official capacity, the upcoming installment is set in a world after the death of Caesar, confirming the character’s legacy will shape the foundation of the upcoming sequel.
The Maze Runner trilogy director Ball helms the picture from a script by Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds), Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), and Patrick Aison (Prey). Also starring in the project are Freya Allen (The Witcher), Peter Macon (The Orville), Eka Darville (Marvel’s Jessica Jones), Kevin Durand (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Travis Jeffery (Preacher), Neil Sandilands (Sweet Tooth), Sara Wiseman, Lydia Peckham (Cowboy Bebop), Ras-Samuel Weld A’abzgi, Dichen Lachman (Jurassic World Dominion), and William H. Macy.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes currently has a release date of May 24, 2024.
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