As Matt Reeves pitches humans against a guerilla gorilla army in Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, he’s been busy recruiting people to play the humans. So it seems only fair that he should start to bolster the other side. Now he has, with news from Vulture that Judy Greer will play Cornelia.
You might recall that in Rise, Cornelia was played by dancer Devyn Dalton, and was all-too briefly introduced as the female chimp that catches the eye – and heart – of king of the swingers Caesar.
Now though, her role will be expanded and Greer has snatched the part to channel both her dramatic and comedic talents through performance-capture alongside Andy Serkis. "It's a very different kind of work than I'm used to," says Greer. "I'm not going to be wearing Manolo Blahniks in this one."
As a die-hard Apes fan, who apparently had a chimp topper on her wedding cake, she lobbied to get the part after talking with Serkis at an awards party last year. "It's gonna be fun to have some secrets, but I have to be oh-so-careful. I'm not supposed to say anything to anyone, so once I start shooting, I won't be able to talk to anybody!" she says. "I feel like I'll be on one of those reality shows where they sequester the survivors until it's over, or a jury where they have to put you up in a hotel so you don't talk."
Greer is joining a cast that already includes Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Gary Oldman. She’ll next be seen in Carrie and will return as Kitty Sanchez (“say goodbye to these!”) in Arrested Development, which airs on Netflix in May. Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes is set to arrive on May 23 next year.