Andy Serkis

Snoke is not the monk-like Sith Emperor of the original Star Wars trilogy. Andy Serkis says he’s much more volatile, and a lot more destructive in the new film.

Now that Thor: Ragnarok is in theaters (and almost all of you have seen it, presumably), it’s time for Marvel fans to turn their attention to the MCU’s next installment: Black Panther. After a pair of thrilling trailers introduced us to the vibrant (and vibranium-packed) world of Wakanda, the cast of director Ryan Coogler’s upcoming superhero film has unveiled a series of new character posters, and they are quite stunning.

Chadwick Boseman stars as Marvel’s African superhero in the new film from ‘Creed’ director Ryan Coogler. Watch the trailer now!

At the Oscars, genre films usually dominate the special effects categories, sometimes getting a nod or a win for a certain actor or director. Mad Max: Fury Road was the last big genre pic to get in the running for Best Picture, receiving tons of nominations after it awed audiences and critics back in 2015. This year’s race is set to be mighty interesting, as Wonder Woman is rumored to be stirring up an Oscar campaign, and a bunch of genre material by prestige directors is debuting within the next few months during fall film festival season. War for the Planet of the Apes is setting itself up as an unlikely contender, officially launching its huge Oscar campaign today.

Already I’m hearing rumblings that people want Andy Serkis to get an Oscar nomination for his performance in War for the Planet of the Apes. I am very skeptical about any performance assisted so heavily by special effects getting nominated for an Academy Awards, and I’m super very skeptical about any awards talk in late June.an

Before Andy Serkis’ take on The Jungle Book hits theaters (if it ever does?), you’ll have a chance to peep his directorial skills in another film: Breathe. The first trailer for Serkis’ inspiring drama, which is sure to draw comparisons to The Theory of Everything, has arrived, touting a performance from Andrew Garfield that’s sure to put him in the mix for next year’s awards race.

Boys, girls, people of all ages, the Serkis has come to town! Andy Serkis, that is. The motion-capture professional will take the lead of the neo-Planet of the Apes franchise once more on July 14 for War for the Planet of the Apes, the third chapter in the trilogy. At this point, audiences pretty much know what to expect: the great clash between hostile humanity and peaceable simiankind rages onward and approaches a final reckoning, as the Serkis-played chimp Caesar wrestles with the terrible responsibilities of leadership in wartime. But before audiences can revisit Apeworld for one last battle, 20th Century Fox wants to be sure we all appreciate just how much went into this film.

This has been a good weekend for Planet of the Apes fans. Not only did we get our first look at some of the early buzz for the final film in the trilogy  —  buzz that suggest that War for the Planet of the Apes might just be the best and bleakest movie in the series yet  —  we’ve also been treated to a special Father’s Day trailer that explores the universal truths of fathers, sons, and legacy. Sentient apes or human, we’re all just trying to leave behind a better world for our children.

If you’d told me a decade ago that one of my most highly anticipated moments of the summer would be a showdown between Woody Harrelson and a CGI primate, I probably would have politely excused myself, driven to the local video store, rented a VHS copy of Clint Eastwood’s Every Which Way But Loose, and smacked you over the head with the cassette tape. My, how things change. Under the careful eye of director Matt Reeves, the war between primates and mankind is now one of the hottest summer tickets, and the early trailers and teasers for War for the Planet of the Apes promise one of the best big-budget movies of the year.

Those viewers of the opinion that the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise numbers among the more successful revivals in the recent deluge (and if you disagree, feel free to kindly see yourself to the e-door) tend to credit Caesar as the film’s secret weapon. The intelligent chimpanzee provided the films with a human center, ironically enough, conveying his maturation and radicalization through unprecedented motion-capture technology and acting from Andy Serkis. The upcoming War For the Planet of the Apes will form the final chapter of this trilogy, and according to the film’s producer, may hold bad news for Caesar superfans.