'Planet of the Apes' sequel: Andy Serkis signs on

Andy Serkis has officially signed on to return as Caesar in a sequel to this summer���s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, EW has confirmed. Serkis has signed a seven-figure deal to return to the Apes franchise, a big addition to an already-busy slate for the motion-performance expert, who also has starring roles in this December’s Tintin and will reprise his iconically nefarious Gollum in the upcoming Hobbit duology. (Deadline first reported the story.)

Serkis’ reps also confirmed that Fox is preparing to wage an Oscar campaign for Serkis’ role in Apes. They’ll be giving him a supporting actor push.

Still unclear: Just what, exactly, they’re going to title the new Apes sequel. When I talked to screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, who wrote Rise and will write the sequel, they vaguely suggested that the title might involve “Revenge.” Revenge of the Planet of the Apes, anyone?

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