I suspect most of you are bored as hell with the ongoing will-he/won’t-he Batfleck saga – I certainly am. It feels like every couple of weeks Ben Affleck is either definitely, absolutely, for-sure-this-time done with the cape and cowl, or eager to get back into the DCEU and team up with Matt Reeves for The Batman. So, it’s nice to have a bit of news that’s not Batfleck related.
Said story comes courtesy of JoBlo, who spoke with Andy Serkis in connection with his new movie Mowgli. They asked him whether he’d consider re-teaming with the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes/War for the Planet of the Apes director for the forthcoming Dark Knight flick, and here’s what he said:
“Oh, for sure! I mean, I’d go to the edge of the created universe with Matt [Reeves]. I mean, he’s the most brilliant director. I would work with anything with him again, y’know, I mean, I absolutely adore him and we’re very good friends, close friends, and I think he’s an extraordinary director so for sure.”
Let’s be fair, this is exactly the kind of non-committal Hollywood fluff answer that means precisely nothing. That being said, it is fun to imagine what role Serkis could play in a Batman project. The obvious candidate, given his mocap experience, is one of the more bizarre villains. I’m sure he’d knock Killer Croc out of the park (though Croc is hardly the most complex guy in Batman’s rogues gallery), but he’d also be excellent as a more horror-tinged Mr. Freeze or, if they really wanted to show some balls, Bat-Mite.
But Serkis has also really proven his live-action chops, too. He was great as Ulysses Klaue in Black Panther, often stealing the scene from the protagonist, so perhaps he could be a more physically able Penguin or Riddler, then? Hell, if Affleck does drop out, why not just surprise everyone and cast Serkis as Batman himself? Sure, it’d be a weird choice, but I honestly think he has it in him.