Hail Caesar! Andy Serkis Going “Apes”

Having played Gollum and King Kong, starring as a super-intelligent ape should be like riding a bike for Andy Serkis.

Serkis will once again don one of those ridiculous motion-capture bodysuits to play Caesar, the head of the brainy apes in the upcoming prequel "Rise of the Apes," according to the 20th Century Fox twitter feed.

Caesar's intelligence is apparently the result of James Franco's failed search for an Alzheimer's cure. Well, the whole thing goes pear-shaped, and the next thing you know a war breaks out between Man and Ape for all the marbles.

Is it at all possible that this new installment will re-capture the magic if the original, which was the most hilariously racist anti-racism movie of all time?  Next time you come across "Planet of the Apes" on TV be amazed at how the fairer apes are smarter, while the darker apes are violent brutes, and yet, the film's heart is clearly in the right place.

While Serkis is the perfect/obvious choice for just about any major mo-cap role, it's a shame he keeps burying his talents under layer upon layer of computer-generated imaging. If you missed his great turn as Ian Dury in "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll," you can catch his delightful mug opposite Simon Pegg in "Burke and Hare" soon enough.

The film, which is being directed by Rupert Wyatt, and also stars Frida Pinto and John Lithgow, is set to hit theaters June 24, 2011.

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