Andy Serkis’ invaluable help with KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES detailed by the actor and director

There are just a few months left until the release of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. This will be the first film in the series in a long time not to welcome a return Andy Serkis, who played Caesar in the rebooted franchise. His character died at the end War for the Planet of the Apes, and although his legacy lives on in the next film, Serkis’ iconic character does not. However, the actor played an important role in the making of the film, helping the director and the actors cultivate this new chapter.

In a recent interview with GamesRadar, the film’s star, Owen Teague, sat down to discuss the asset that was Andy Serkis behind the scenes of the film. Teague explained:

“To start, I spoke to Andy on Zoom for an hour and a half in my apartment. And then, he ended up meeting with the rest of the cast in “monkey school” on Zoom, where he would have a conversation with us. He was really, really lovely and generous. He is someone I have looked up to since I was six years old. He passed the baton. Andy helped me feel good about dealing with this because he’s been doing it for so long. One thing he said was, “It’s just acting.” Approach it the same way you would anything else. This is no different. You wear a monkey costume, but you still do all the other jobs you normally do.’ That was really nice to hear.

When it comes to becoming the new face of the hit franchise, Teague admitted there’s a lot of pressure on his shoulders.

“It’s terrifying. But it’s also surprising. It’s totally surreal. I never thought I would lead a franchise previously led by Andy Serkis. It’s ridiculous to even say that, because one of the reasons I’m an actor is because I saw Andy play Kong as a kid.

Speaking about the stress of his new important role, Teague added:

“There’s definitely a lot of pressure. Luckily I didn’t think about it while we were actually shooting, but now I feel it. I hope he likes it. I hope he thinks we did a good job.”

GamesRadar also reports that during a trailer launch event in Los Angeles, director Wes Ball also revealed that Serkis served as a consultant on the new film, being happy to impart his advice to the cast and crew. And initially, the British actor was actually considered for a role in the upcoming trilogy, even going as far as reading some lines.

“We thought, ‘Man, wouldn’t it be cool to bring Andy in to play another character.’ At one point, he came in and read some lines against one of the actors – and you could just hear Cesare. We asked him to help us, but he thought it was wrong [to add him to the cast]. We decided not to, but I talked to Andy a lot.

Speaking further about Serkis’ behind-the-scenes role in the upcoming film, the director added:

“I showed him the script and told him what the ideas were. I showed him the concept art and asked him, “Did I get it right?” Andy was instrumental in sitting down with us and talking about how we could stay true to the spirit of the previous films while still charting our own path.”

Serkis, of course, has a long history in performance capture. Palla said:

“When he made Monkeys, he had already made Gollum, King Kong and others [Captain Haddock] from Tintin. He’s a veteran of mo-cap, but all of our actors had never done it before. This is totally new for them. I said, ‘Andy, could you come in and talk to the group and give them some pointers?’ He replied: ‘Absolutely. Don’t say anything more.’ Andy is truly the nicest guy ever. He is so generous, kind and supportive, so he talked to all the actors and told them what he had learned.

As for important lessons shared with actors, Ball explained:

“You can’t pretend to be a monkey, you have to be a monkey. It’s difficult for our actors. I mean, they walk around in these stupid clothes. They look ridiculous. How can you overcome all that and just be? It was a real journey and a real struggle for all the kids at first, but then they went to monkey camp for six weeks where they just improvised and they bloody loved it. I would go to check on them and as soon as I entered the room they would start acting like monkeys around me. It’s damn intimidating! They were inside. It was a fascinating process.”

It’s great that Serkis was able to mentor the new cast and pass on the wisdom he’s gained from playing in this world for so long.

It also includes the cast of the film Freya Allen (The witcher), Peter Macon (The Orville), Travis Jeffrey (Uninterrupted), Neil Sandilands (Sweetness), Sara Wisemann (One of us is lying), Ras-Samuel Welda’abzgi (The clearing), Lydia Peckham (Cowboy bebop), AND Kevin Durand. The film’s screenplay comes from Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds), Rick Jaffa AND Amanda Silver (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), AND Patrick Aison (Prey). Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will be released in American theaters on May 10th. If you haven’t seen the new trailer, check it out here.