The Return of Andy Serkis in the Next Planet of the Apes Film

The Legacy of Andy Serkis' Caesar Performance

The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes nearly betrayed the true legacy of Andy Serkis' Caesar performance, with this decision almost bringing down the entirety of the Planet of the Apes franchise with it. Andy Serkis starred as Caesar in all three entries in Matt Reeves' modern Planet of the Apes trilogy, with his performance as the leading ape being one of the highlights of the films.

Caesar in planet of the apes

Matt Reeves' Planet of the Apes trilogy is one of the most beloved blockbuster movie series of all time, with it revitalizing the classic sci-fi series in a way that appealed to a massive new audience. While the Planet of the Apes reboot series was seemingly done after War for the Planet of the Apes, this turned out not to be the case. 2024 will see the release of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, a continuation of Matt Reeves' Planet of the Apes timeline that is set centuries after Caesar's age.

Kingdom of the planet of the apes image with an ape on horseback riding towards an overgrown city

The film will feature a new cast and crew, but it almost brought back one familiar face. While Andy Serkis' Caesar performance is legendary, one behind-the-scenes choice in the development of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes nearly ruined it, hurting the legacy of the actor and the character forever.

Caesar carries his son on his back in War for the Planet of the Apes.

The Controversy of Bringing Andy Serkis Back

While Caesar won't be returning in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Andy Serkis' time with the franchise was almost extended before the team behind the film changed their minds. Director Wes Ball revealed in an interview that the team behind Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes talked about bringing Andy Serkis back for the fourth film, although he would be playing a different motion-captured character. However, the team eventually changed their mind after deeming Andy Serkis 'too iconic,' meaning that he won't be in the film. This is great news for fans of the franchise, as bringing Serkis back would have been a big mistake.

Apes on horseback in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Bringing Andy Serkis back as a different character in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes would have created all kinds of new problems, so it's a better decision for him not to come back at all. Sequels of live-action franchises would never recast their main actor as a different character, so it would be really weird for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes to do this with Andy Serkis. Andy Serkis was an incredible part of the franchise for three epic movies, and bringing him back shows that Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is too concerned with clinging onto the past rather than moving on.

Freya Allan as Mae hiding in tall grass in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

The Impact on Performance Capture Art

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes' potential Andy Serkis return is a huge disservice to the motion capture art form, with it hurting Serkis' performance capture work. By recasting Andy Serkis as a completely different character, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes would be making it seem like audiences can't tell who Serkis is, which isn't the case. Although Caesar is a CGI character, the performance choices and minute details that Serkis put into his role as Caesar make it impossible to separate the two. Having Serkis play another character would just feel off, as it would hurt this link with Caesar.

An ape holds up a torch to look at the underground tunnel in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

On top of hurting Andy Serkis' work, bringing Serkis back for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes would also hurt the field of motion capture as a whole. Serkis is a talented actor, but he has served his time in the Planet of the Apes franchise. Bringing him back would mean that another talented motion capture performer wouldn't get the chance to play that role. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is one of the most large-scale performance capture movies ever, so it should take the opportunity to shine a spotlight on talented performance capture artists rather than reusing ones audiences already know.

A ape society next to an ocean in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes