Andy Serkis, the man behind the popular Gollum character from the "Lord of the Rings" films, is reuniting with the trilogy's Peter Jackson to become the man behind the monster in Universal Pictures' "King Kong," the director's retelling of the 1933 classic.

Like he did for Gollum, Serkis will provide motion capture reference for the character of Kong, who will eventually be realized as a completely CGI creature.

Serkis also has been cast as Lumpy the cook, a member of the crew of the Venture, the tramp steamer that sails to Skull Island.

"I expect this time round will be a very different experience for both Andy and myself as we'll actually get to shoot extended drama sequences together," Jackson said in a statement. "It will be a little weird seeing Andy out of his Gollum gimp suit -- and I hope we can both make the adjustment!"

Commenting on Kong himself, Jackson said: "While Andy will provide very valuable onset reference, this doesn't mean we will be softening Kong by attempting to humanize him. The power of the story lies in the fact that this is a savage beast from a hostile environment, and we don't intend to compromise that."

Serkis joins Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody in the cast. Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are writing, with Jackson and Walsh also producing.

Mary Parent, Universal's vice chairman of worldwide production, is overseeing.

Serkis, who is repped by the Gersh Agency and Lou Coulson in the United Kingdom, was most recently seen in "13 Going on 30."