Andy Serkis Signs Up for 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' Sequel

Apes, released in August, starred James Franco, Frieda Pinto and John Lithgow but also featured Serkis doing motion capture work as the super-intelligent chimp Caesar. The movie, proved to be a surprise hit, grossing $453 million worldwide. More importantly, critics had tongues wagging about Serkis’ performance, many saying it was worthy of an Oscar.

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Fox, moving forward on a sequel, exercised its option on Apes director Rupert Wyatt and has engaged original writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver to pen a new story.

But Fox has also inked a rich deal with Serkis for him to reprise his role Caesar. Serkis didn’t have a deal for a sequel and was able to flip that initial weakness and muscle his way into a large payout, something unprecedented for an actor known mostly for acting under layers of digital effects.