We've known for a while that WETA were providing mo-cap monkeys for the project, so this makes all sorts of sense. But we must admit we've been surprised by the news that Andy Serkis will play the central ape role of Caesar in Fox's prequel / reboot **Rise of the Apes.
In fact, it's such a no-brainer we're ashamed we didn't predict it. Serkis has, of course, worn the silly romper suit with all the motion sensors on it for WETA to massive acclaim before, both as Gollum / Smeagol in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and as King Kong (so he's even got previous simian form).
As Caesar, he'll be filling Roddy McDowell's shoes (from 1972's Conquest of the Planet of the Apes) as the ringleading intelligent ape, springing from James Franco's lab after some experiments into a cure for Alzheimer's Disease go awry. The ensuing revolution will eventually lead to Charlton Heston falling to his knees in front of a drowned Statue of Liberty, and a group of deformed mutant A-bomb worshippers destroying the world. Or, if you prefer, it'll lead to Marky Mark looking puzzled in front of a monument to an ape Abe Lincoln.
Serkis joins the aforementioned Franco, Frida Pinto, and John Lithgow as Franco's father. Rupert Wyatt is directing from a script by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, and shooting begins shortly in British Columbia for a June 2011 release.