Some of us found it unusual when Andy Serkis showed up in a pivotal role in Andor, the fantastic new Star Wars show that’s available to anyone with a Disney+ subscription. After all, Serkis played a significant role in the Star Wars mythology already, pulling strings as Supreme Emperor Snoke behind the scenes in Star Wars: The Force Awakens until he was taken off the board by Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) in Star Wars: The Last Jedi – a plot point that Serkis himself didn’t love. Seeing Serkis return to Star Wars, it got us thinking… could he also return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where he once played Ulysses Klaw but met his end in the first Black Panther movie. He can’t do that anymore, but could he play someone else?
Andy Serkis sat down with CinemaBlend to discuss his incredible work in Andor as Kino Loy, an imprisoned man convinced to join the Rebellion when Cassian Andor opens his eyes to the harsh reality of The Empire. And while he initially was hesitant to take the role because he feared it might cause Snoke confusion with him playing both roles, he eventually accepted that Kino Loy was just too good of a character not to play, and he accepted the invite. So when I asked Serkis if a return to the MCU were possible as well, he told CinemaBlend:
You know, I love both universes, of course. And that’s the great thing about performance capture. It allows you to completely become something else, transform… and how you manifest on screen is limitless. That’s why I’ve always adored it as a 21st century tool for an actor, because it really does enable you to thoroughly investigate and completely become something other than yourself.
Andy Serkis danced around the point a little, but did emphasize that motion capture would allow him a way back into the MCU, as he’d be pulling off the opposite of what happened in Star Wars. Back in The Force Awakens, Serkis used mo-cap to play Snoke as a deformed, scarred and menacing antagonist. He looked nothing like Serkis, the actor, which allowed Andy to appear as himself when playing Kino Loy.
On the flip side, Klaw looked enough like Andy Serkis that if you tried to bring him back as a human character, we’d likely make comparisons to the character he played in Black Panther and Avengers: Age of Ultron… creating that confusion that Serkis feared with Snoke. That being said, Serkis is such a master of motion capture, he could easily use the technology to play an endless number of Marvel characters in upcoming Marvel movies. Off the top of my head, Serkis would make an excellent Silver Surfer, Galactus, Dracula in the Blade movie, or the Beyonder (if he’s somehow used in Avengers: Secret Wars).
More Andy Serkis is never a bad thing, no matter what universe we are discussing. His time with the Planet of the Apes series appears to be over, but motion-capture could keep him alternating between Star Wars and Marvel for the rest of his career if he wanted. He won’t be doing Venom 3 for specific reasons, so he should have all of the time in the world.
