The combination of J.J. Abrams’ penchant for secrecy and the popularity of Star Wars will make the next year a long one. There’s no way to know how much the people involved are allowed to say, so we have to take what we can get, which is exactly what Andy Serkis gives during the press circuit for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.
Serkis is involved in two major films next year – The Avengers: Age of Ultron and Star Wars: The Force Awakens – so he’s on the receiving end of questions about both. Since we know hardly anything about the latter, we definitely paid attention when Serkis spoke to Entertainment Weekly.
One of the biggest questions in the teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the actor behind that voice-over. It was confirmed not long after that it was Serkis himself, but now we have more information about the voice.
First, it’s really him. According to Serkis, the voice “is the character. There’s no digital manipulation. That’s just me.” That’s impressive in and of itself.
Two things were noticeable about his voice in the trailer. One, he sounds like he’s from the dark side. Two, he sounds weary and Serkis confirmed that his character has “been through some stuff.” That definitely makes us wonder if he’s going to be playing a villain of sorts, or at least not a hero.
He also denied those rumors that he’s playing more than one character, stating “[that’s] not true at all.” Whether or not the character he is playing will be recognizable as Serkis (since he’s primarily known for motion capture and CGI roles like Gollum), he says that “these things will all come out in the fullness of time, I promise.”
It’s not surprising that he’s so secretive. In fact, he seemed as surprised as the rest of us concerning his presence in the trailer:
“[Director J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy] told me, ‘You’re all over the trailer,’ but I didn’t know what that meant. I thought, ‘Oh great, they’re using the voice of the character I play for the trailer. That’s fantastic.’ Not thinking what that would actually translate into.”
It may not be much, but we’re grateful he said something! At least there’s plenty to speculate about until the film comes out! Who do you think Serkis will be playing in the film – an Inquisitor or something more? Let us know in the comments!
