Andy Serkis Confirms he is Playing a Mo-Cap Character in Star Wars: Episode 7!
Andy Serkis spoke to SciFiNow about Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes and revealed how he got the Star Wars: Episode 7 role, and the role of both himself and his motion capture studio Imaginarium in the production…
From SciFiNow:
“The Imaginarium is now involved in all of the performance capture on the Star Wars projects,” Serkis confirms, “and I’m playing a character in that. It’s extraordinary. I grew up with Star Wars and was a massive fan of the original films. I never imagined in a million years that I’d be engaging with this. It’s just come about so organically.”
“JJ Abrams and I met, and we just had this incredible kind of vibe between us.” He said, ‘You’d fit really well in this universe,’ and I said, ‘I think I probably could.’ We’re working very closely, as I say, in two ways: the Imaginarium is providing all of the performance characters, and I myself am playing a character in it.
“I’m thrilled, deeply excited,” he continued. “Sitting at that read-through the other day was just extraordinary. It was an amazing event; being with the original cast was just incredible. I just think the script is so wonderful, and both the old and the newbies in the cast are just so thrilled and excited to get together.”
Well, Serkis playing a mo-cap character is not surprising at all. Still this is the first official confirmation about it. Also it looks like the alien races in Episode 7 will be well represented by Serkis’ studio Imaginarium. As expected the movie will be a mixture of old school practical effects and the latest mo-cap technology.
Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.
Born on April 24, 1980.
He’s playing Zeb!!!!!!!!!
Maybe.
Today it just hit me…what if SERKIS is playing the main villain in Ep7?? He has never played that kind of role…we all expect him to play a cute creature companion to the good guys…but after watching the previews to Dawn of the Apes several times…I think he would be a FIERCE villain. Can anyone help with guessing IF he was a villain – who he might be? My only guess is Plaugis the Wise…
THE MAIN VILLAIN of the entire trilogy!!! Who? I have no idea…but after watching Dawn of the Apes….he can definitely pull it off and be a real mean creature.
test
ok
if you say so
Andy Serkis is motion capture. That’s all I have to say.
Apparently, he has transcended humanity, has crossed through the Uncanny Valley, and is now the living incarnation of a special effect. What a guy.
I’m kind of desappointed to here that, Andy Serkis is a fine actor who deserves the recognition of the public. Never showing his face on the screen reduces it to the geeks or film-lovers.
On the other end, it’s exciting to have him perform a character so strange that it can’t be made into a costum or animatronics. Now I’m wondering if it’s a hero or a villain…
He showed up without motion-capture in King Kong. While he did use it for portraying the titular ape, he didn’t use it for his role as Lumpy the cook.
And, of course, he also portrayed the pre-Gollum Smeagol in Return of the King.
I agree. It would be great to see him acting without the overlay. Still, it’s cool to be the best there is at what you do. And as far as motion-capture goes, Serkis has it locked down. Sure, he’s probably not recognized by most folks when walking down the street but he’s super respected and admired within certain circles. I think that sort of limited fame would appeal to me much more.
I can only hope that they have the sense to make him look as totally different from Gollum as possible. That’s the last image we need in our head, to drag us out of the SW universe.
It’s not a full confirmation. I mean the full article does say “Although the loud voice of the internet has been quick to assume his role is motion-capture, that’s not necessarily a given.” But it does sound like a confirmation, albeit a possibly cryptically worded confirmation.. I hope he is mo-cap. I mean Andy Serkis is a fine dramatic/live action actor but lets be honest there are much better talent out there and I don’t think JJ would just pick him because they had a good ‘vibe’ with eachother when they met. I’m sure Kathleen Kennedy raised the idea as she produced Tintin which stared Andy in mo-cap.
Sounds like there will be a large use of mo-cap then. Maybe there’s an alien race that is the new threat of this trilogy to replace the empire and Andy is the leader. Then they join forces with the Sith who I imagine is Max Von Sydow and his apprentice(‘s). Just a thought. There seems to be so many announced actors.
I hear he’s playing Ja Ja Binks. *ducks for cover.
Are people still making Jar Jar Binks jokes? All it does is drag star wars through the mud. Just let the fucker die already.
It’s going to be worse than Jar Jar. This is going to be like those stupid aliens on John Carter.
Are you kidding me? Almost every time that Andy Serkis is in a movie where he does motion-capture, it’s almost always considered to be the best part of the film. See The Lord Of The Rings, The Hobbit, King Kong, and Planet Of The Apes for examples of how he’s proven himself as an actor behind CGI.
Agreed. Andy Serkis is definitely the class act of Motion Capture technology. Of course, the problem with Jar Jar was not the technology or the artistry involved. People just didn’t like the character. But really he was an amazing step forward in special effects. So it’s what they DO with the technology that matters and I have tremendous faith in Serkis to deliver a strong character that will shine through the digital creation!
@ Tars Tarkas… agreed, aliens in John Carter looked bad too. The dog creature was a little interesting but way over the top as most CGI usually is.
Read the full article before posting bullshit…
“Although the loud voice of the internet has been quick to assume his role is motion-capture, that’s not necessarily a given. “
Don’t worry, I read it…
His own statement implied that he’s doing motion-capture work.
I wonder if they will risk another CGI main character after the not-quite-resounding “success” of Jar-Jar. Then again, if anyone could pull it off, it would be Serkis. He’s already done it at least twice (Gollum and King King). A truly well-designed and well-animated character could be a nice addition to the movie.
But I suspect it will be a supporting character only. Maybe a part about as “big” as Watto, but no more. They already have a HUGE cast that somehow will have to share a couple of hours of screentime.
Not a confirmation, as it’s far from clear what role he is taking. He doesn’t outright say he has a performance capture role.
He didn’t say he is playing a cgi character at all, he says his company is doing the mocap and he will play “a character” in the film. While I think he will likely play a mocap character and this is a clue, this isn’t a “confirmation”. There really does need to be a question mark on this, Viral. It just looks like you have jumped the gun and read into the story.
“Also it looks like the alien races in Episode 7 will be well represented by Serkis’ studio Imaginarium.”
Are you suggesting that they are doing all the aliens? That’s what that sentence seems to say, but he never said his company would do all the aliens.
I think he means “all the aliens that aren’t muppets, animatronics, or people in costume”.
Mo-Cap
Mo-Cap
Mo-Cap
C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!
From day one I was pretty certain He’s gonna be a motion capture character, I mean why cast Serkis if not? It wouldn’t bother me as long as it looks more realistic than anything we’ve seen in movies over the last 10 years… I’m concerned about it because LOTR’s (2nd and 3rd films)/The Hobbit’s CGI is over the top and not realistic at all (I’ll just second Kotaku’s review saying that he felt like he was watching a videogame).
Avatar I felt was sort of convincing but still there was something a bit sterile about the modeling.
I take it Lucasfilm will be doing the CGI… they worked on Harry Potter right? Dobby the house elf/buck beak/ the troll/ the dragons/ skeletal horse things/evil mermaids were entirely CGI… and it shows… not convinced yet by CGI. Although they might be going about it a different way than it’s been done in the past with different animators or production houses… I’m open minded if they are utilizing new modelling technology. But if not then I’m worried… though I don’t think it will look nearly as bad as the CGI Yoda/Jar Jar did… If they don’t go over the top I think it’ll be fine.
That being said though… if they do go all Motion capture… I hope they do something unique that doesn’t resemble a human too closely. Why does every one of these humanoid CGI aliens always has to have 2 eyes, a nose, and mouth, arms and legs in similar orientations to humans?
Yeah, but that’s a problem a big problem across all sci-fi, usually a mix of lack of creativity and the (understandable) problem that they need characters/species/ect. to be relatable to the audience. The average person wouldn’t empathize with a Hutt, for example.
I’m not sure how you could have advanced technological machines and software systems if you didn’t have similar physical attributes and characteristics to a human. E.G. spaceships, commuters, guns, communication devices, guitars and harps, etc.
Disney did Lilo and Stitch and the alien creatures in that weren’t standard anthropomorphic ones… so I am sure Star Wars is in capable hands. 🙂
It sounds like you just don’t care much for CGI at all. That’s your choice, of course, but, as was the case with making movies in color and with sound, I think CGI is here to stay. So you can accept it or you can sit and watch movies from the 80’s and earlier on television.
(this is Aras) I’m fine with CGI as long as it looks real… have you really seen anything that made you wonder weather it was CGI’d or not?
The thing is I’m a representational artist and there are painters who can make things look real. CGI just has to catch up. I think it will… I’m not anti-CGI I just want it to look good in SW7.
He didn’t say he was playing Mo cap, but his Imaginarium is part of EP 7?!?!?!
So yeah I would say that he was hired for cg work!!!
People are so damn technical to anything they think they can read into. Miselfpellidwurds and all!!!
An article on the new Motion capture technique that was used for cancelled 1313 game would be interesting. It is an overlay CGI Mo Cap technique in real time. It was said to have revolutionary possibilities like the Avid system was to dailies, it was to be for gaming. However, I think it will be used in new movie, take with salt of course because I grasp at straws…from time to time.
I hope this time aliens will have hair. Computer generated aliens in movies rarely have fur because it’s expensive to render.
Well, they are on a tight budget.
:
Lupita is the mo-cap character.
Well so much for old school practical effects…I assume Serkis will be playing Jar Jar cause they weren’t happy with the CGI performance in EP1…..
Jar Jar wasn’t even mocap. Plus his ridiculousness was in his character, not in how he was placed onto the screen.
They’ve already released photos and a video showing practical effect creatures, they’ve also confirmed they’re going back to practical effects where they can. So yeah, a mo-cap character played by the greatest mo-cap actor out there = Everything in CGI and a character the equivalent of Jar Jar. I swear, you basement dwellers are pathetic.
people seem to like that script..
“I just think the script is so wonderful”
Ease.
Dex! He’s playing Dex! Serving Food and clues to Luke and this time Mark will do a better job than Ewan.
What was wrong with Ewan’s job? I thought he played the scene with Dex really well.
He’s playing Chewy’s Son Lumpy….Everybody knows….Chewbacca’s so indebted to Solo he gives his kid to Solo’s kid as a side kick…That’s dedication right there.
Aarrggghhh! No Lumpy ever! And please tell me that the old perverted Grandpa wookiee is long in the ground by now!
Andy Serkis played a character named Lumpy.
…Poodoo.
I’m glad they are not abandoning cgi. I usually prefer practical effects but, judging by the Klingon prosthetics and Scotty’s alien sidekick in Into Darkness, I think practical effects are not JJ’s strong suit. I’d even go so far as to say that practical effects departments in general have atrophied in the last few decades through lack of use. Prosthetics and puppets don’t work unless you have world class sculptors and painters.
Thank GOODNESS there will be some use of CGI and some modern movie techniques in this. Andy serkis’ work is pretty damn amazing. So is the imaginarium. Rise of the planet of the apes was pretty amazing for cgi standards and very smooth throughout. This post eases my mind a bit, because everything I’ve been reading lately about how “old school” they were going, was starting to borderline RIDICULOUS. Shooting on 35 mm, with slow as hell frame rates, and then OT fans crying out for non-stop puppets as well as nursing home light Saber duels reminiscing arthritic sir Alec Guinness and vaders Death Star fight! If they listened to all of you simply to please, we’d simply have another “a new hope”. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the OT but this is about putting Star Wars back on top, and reinvigorating it for the next however many years. I pray JJ Abrams doesn’t just bow down to OT old timer fans that simply seek a blast back into their childhood, and make a shit storm of a decrepit movie. And whoever said the Klingons looked stupid in the new Star Trek movies is a fool. Both movies, regardless if you hated the plots, acting, screenplay, or lens flares…those movies looked damn good. I can’t wait to see what JJ and everyone does, but don’t change who you are as a filmmaker simply cause of aging bored internet trolls.
I think you were taking our hopes to far. Of course we expect modern CGI in places where it’s needed. You can’t blame us for being CGI shy after the prequels. When nearly every background is CGI for crying out loud.
We just want proper sets, location filming and a healthy amount of practical effects. If they have a fleet battle planned I sure expect that to be 100% CGI.
The biggest thing is we want to believe what we are seeing on screen and that is something the OT did far and away better than the prequels which verged on being a cartoon.
the problem with mo-cap is that it never looks tangible and real. if they have some new and improved method of using cgi then fine, lets see it, but come one, it has to be at a higher level then what we have seen so far in movies. but if it looks like Gollum, King Kong, Roger Rabbit, or whatever, then I’d rather not have it in the movie. It ends up looking dated. And there is always something hard to put your finger on when it comes to cgi characters, there is a coldness there, a soulessness…something never feels quite right with them. CGi should complement the practical effects, not take front and center, my opinion.
You are very wrong about the lightsaber fights being better in the prequels. Jedi are not supposed to be ninjas, hopping around like they did in those movies; they are more like samurai or knights…Lucas may have lost sight of his original aim with the prequels in that regard. The ligtsabers in the OT looked ALIVE, and the Jedi looked as if they were struggling to even wield them at times. It gave off the impression of respect for the weapon more, a relationship between the one who wields and what is being wielded; the prequel fights looked RIDCULOUS, as if they were tossing around glow sticks with no weight or life to them.
“Shooting on 35 mm, with slow as hell frame rates.”
LOL you have no idea what you’re talking about. 35mm is a much better medium and frame rates are the exact same as digital.. 24fps. The only thing which is different is what the image is stored on. And film looks better. The only downside is that it’s more expensive and takes longer to prep for.. But how does that effect you? It doesn’t. Move along.
“OT fans crying out for non-stop puppets.”
Yes because puppets are real and tangible. They are more impressive because you can pretty much do anything in a computer, so to go out of your way to build a real craft is actually impressive. Move along.
“nursing home light Saber duels reminiscing arthritic sir Alec Guinness and vaders Death Star fight!”
As opposed to what? The prequel fights? balerina overrehearsed shlock? No thanks. The old-ben and vader fight was supposed to be slow. It was just in some corridor. It didn’t matter. It had tension. It was about the context rather than the cheap gimicks. What are you, 12? Move along.
“I pray JJ Abrams doesn’t just bow down to OT old timer fans that simply seek a blast back into their childhood, and make a shit storm of a decrepit movie”
This has nothing to do with nostalgia, or childhoods. Heck, I grew up with the prequels and I knew from the get go they were bad films. As I’ve grown older I’ve understood that they lacked simple humanity and they relied on a stupid psychology that bigger is better. When in actual fact it’s better when it’s small scaled so it feels personal and real, rather than an oversacled video game for babies who don’t have the brain to understand subtleties and want everything to be BIG and EXPLOSIVE and FAST. I’m afraid you’ve missed the point entirely.
And you’ve missed my entire point. I loved the OT and have plenty of problems with the PT as most people do. My point was simply that it seems they aren’t just going as far as making the ST a more personal based capture of the OT feel…..it seems they’re all together trying to take a step backwards into making it COMPLETELY feel like it was shot in the 1980’s. What it seems to me is the product we will be recieving is Star Wars grindhouse movie. Shot on old scale 35mm film, with as many puppets as they can fit into it. Along with cgi, mo-cap, and slow dinky light saber fights…simply to please the bitching older demographic fans that want to re-live their glory days of Star Wars. I’m fine with recapturing the feel of those movies but there’s no reason to take a step back in how the movie looks, and the action of it. Cause let’s be honest, it wasn’t just the story that people were blown away with in the 70’s and 80’s. It was the action and special effects. There should be nothing wrong with making it look damn amazing, with great NEW effects, action, and on up to date filming mechanisms.
“it wasn’t just the story that people were blown away with in the 70′s and 80′s. It was the action and special effects. There should be nothing wrong with making it look damn amazing, with great NEW effects, action, and on up to date filming mechanisms.”
Again, missing the point. People are bored with NEW EFFECTS. Because guess what. IT’S NOT NEW. Take jurrasic park for example. People were literally screaming in theatres when the dinosaurs came on screen. Then take star wars itself, people were literally crying at the opening shot as the huge star destroyer drove over the shot. So tell me, do you know anyone who would literally scream at a cgi dinosour? or a cgi spaceship? You can’t. Effects don’t amaze the audience because we’ve seen it all before. Yet the irony now is that a simple puppet can move people because it’s rare we see anything like that. That’s what matters, not how epic it is. It’s not the physical effect itself, it’s the effect on the audience via the context. They should do whatever will be interesting to watch and at the moment, practical effects are by far the most interesting, with CG enhancements.
To anonymous June 29th 17:04… I’m 30 years old ya ass clown…Grew up on the OT…Love the OT, watched each of them easily 60 times a piece in my life. I happen to enjoy the PT too. My point of my original comments were simply that…I really hope (and I’m sure I don’t have anything to worry about, but just HOPE) that Abrams doesn’t just go overhoard on trying to make Episode 7 look and overall feel EXACTLY the same as the OT. My comment about 35 mm film, seems like he’s just pulling out every stop to make it feel older. And as a matter of fact I do know what the hell I’m talking about. It’s not just the composite of the film (actual film, as compared to being digital) 35mm is shot with a whopping 24fps, yes! Good job you know that! Instead of 64 fps like most anything today. I happen to enjoy the look of 35mm film, but in movies meant for that! Not an epic sci-fi fantasy opera. Again, just my opinion, why the hell would you shoot these amazing onsite-real locations, which I love that they’re doing (Abu Dhabi, Scotland, Iceland and wherever else) great tangible puppets, mixed with cgi, mo-cap, and what could look so damn incredible on a lower frame rate? Even if the theme and feeling of this trilogy is going to be darker, and gritty, you still don’t have to sacrifice that in what you shoot on. It’s where you shoot at, set and lighting design. It simply made me apprehensive thinking he could be going over the top to channel that original “feel”. Soooo, how about you move along. Especially with your tired ass, half brained, scruffy rebuttal just cause you know the frame rate of 35mm film is. Oh and there’s nothing wrong with the fights in the PT. Hell that was one of the only awesome things to come out of them. Finally getting to know how truly badass jedi’s can be since they finally had the MEANS and reason to show it. Just like Lucas knew he couldn’t do it back in the late 70’s early 80’s.
To anonymous June 29 15:24….It’s so funny how butt-hurt some of us fanboys get when someone knocks the Alec Guinness and vader light saber fight. It comes down to opinion. You all can have your opinion about it being REALISTIC, or like one dipshit said “a tight corridor…blah blah blah”. Since when is a 25 foot wide long hallway a tight corridor? That’s stretching a bit pal. But the fact to me is pretty clear…it was a 1977 slightly lower budgeted film, that obviously didn’t have the means to make it exciting. Especially due to Alec Guinness’ age. Not to mention, I doubt light saber fights had too much traction in movies just yet, or interesting choreography (and YES choreography needs to be planned, no matter how much you wanna argue against that or you get a sword fight that looks like two untrained actors hack at eachother like five year olds). And face it, that’s why it was how it was. It was pretty damn “ehhhhhhhh realllllllly?”of a fight. Maybe not in the sense of what it was (the first time anyone got to see Jedi’s hack it out with light sabers). And I know me saying that pisses hardcore fans off. And take offense to it, but be honest, there’s a reason people who aren’t diehard fans kind of chuckle at it…it cause we as hardcore fans love it, and live for Star Wars. But it seems to me though Lucas obviously wanted more. Being that he did what he did with the fights in the PT. And not just the PT, but with luke and vaders two fights. Much more choreographed, very natural feeling, and I loved them. Even the evidence that luke’s power, and technique grew much more between ESB and ROTJ. Hmm I wonder where I’m going with this. Seems Lucas is a pretty imaginative genius, and I’m sure he deduced that…. Jedi knights, who have trained their whole life, in tons of fighting styles, dueling styles (much like real warriors like the samurai and knights) but they can command a precognitive thing like the force, along with being able to will their bodies to move faster, jump higher, control objects, move them, throw them, and even do things like shoot lighting out of their fingers….OF FU***** COURSE they can have insanely detailed, acrobatic, ridiculously intricate amazing light-saber duels. Not to mention, I’ve seen people spar with real STEEL (blunted) swords, that weigh (4-5 pounds) much more than a theoretical “sword made out of a LASER” and still managed to make it look like they were swinging bamboo shoots around. Whether or not Lucas “lost his way” according to you, it seemed he managed to deduce that Jedi knights are super “human” warriors, wielding that much power and training, it makes plenty of sense that they could and should have fights like that. So JESUS CHRIST, stop letting something different, exciting, imaginative and artistic like friggin badass lightsaber fights with badass jedi’s, be soooo damn obscured simply for your blind hatred for the PT. It’s ridiculous and short sighted. Everyone has their own opinion but honestly, it seems That is the absolute main issue so many of us fanboys have.
You had me at the start but then your support of technology switched to a bashing of the original trilogy and A New Hope in particular. One hopes that J.J. and Lawrence Kasdan have learned from BOTH trilogies and will take a bit of what has worked well in each.
Oh come on, it’s obvious: he’s replacing Harrison Ford.
A digitally rendered Han Solo as motion captured by Andy Serkis! OF COURSE! You’re brilliant!
Debating mocap or not… I love his overall statement. I know no one is going to say the script is bad… but all of them seem to really love the story. That has me excited more than anything. I’m seriously unhealthily excited lol.
Ask me a year in a half ago if I’d even remotely be excited about the prospect of Star Wars movie and I’d have been dead set on it either never going to happen or just be another mistake we wish didn’t. Now look at where we are. Amazing.
I think Benedict Cumberbatch was auditioned for a mo-cap role too.
Since the project was announced, finally we have the first bad news…
It’s was so perfect…
lol what? Andy Serkis is doing .. WHAT? MOCAP? OH MY GOD STOP THE PRODUCTION BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE !
your sarcasm about mo-cap is boring. Mo-cap sucks
agreed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Vsxq6Afk3o
Yeah .. this ‘sucks’ ..
Ah, the sort of ridiculous blanket statement that is now all too much a part of the commentary of Star Wars fans. Had the technology existed, Lucas would have used motion capture from the start, as would every other major science fiction and fantasy filmmaker!
motion capture does not ‘suck’.. I do however admit that the model/character have been very poor in the past. I mean Golum in lord of the rings was a great performance from the mocap, but looked very bad and very fake from the actual character model. However with the recent Hobbit film, the character model looks 100% photo realistic.
Maybe Harrison Ford will be back doing the action scenes a lot sooner than expected, despite having a cast on his leg, with Andy Serkis playing Han Solo’s leg!
Considering how amazing Jar Jar, Watto, Yoda, the Clonetroopers and all the CG characters in the PT looked 10-15 years ago one can only imagine how great they will look now.
Anyone who thinks that this is going to look like a movie from the 80’s is going to be sorely disappointed. That’s simply not how films are made. The PT was a spectacular success because it moved forward and at the same time used all the old tricks of the OT but in ways that they could never realize.
I find it so funny when people talk about how they hope the ST “returns” to practical effects apparently not realizing that the PT was one of if not the greatest trilogy of practical effects work ever seen in movie history. The number of miniatures, models, matte paintings etc for each PT film alone was more than the entire OT combined.
It’s as funny as various shots in the SE’s being slammed for being CG when in fact what they are slamming are more models and miniatures being added into the film!! They lazily think it was all CG. It’s even funnier when the same people go on about how they can tell when something is “fake CG” because obviously they can’t as what they are so often slamming is the “practical” things they love so much.
“Considering how amazing Jar Jar, Watto, Yoda, the Clonetroopers and all the CG characters in the PT”
Please, don’t make me talk…
Andy Serkis = Motion capture/CGI character.
It’s a given.
“It’s working…….it’s working!”
Thanx Viral Hide for the assist!
I think we all kinda figured that when we heard is name in press release.
He’s portraying this trilogies gungan “Jar Jar Binks”
Playing Jar Jar’s long-lost brother, Bar Bar Jinks?
Andy will be playing a rancor. One of many. You read it here first.
Ok we all knew of this, but it’s nice to know its more confirmation of it now.
He could be doing more then one thing here..
1.A Villain I think its Darth Plagius or even that guy in Rebels.
2.Mother nightsister Talzon seem to me that the bad guys are jedi hunters with mandalorian armors?
3.Several different type of creatures… Meaning more then just one. Think about it!