Search form

Andy Serkis to Direct ‘Venom 2’

Veteran actor, known for performance capture innovation in roles such as the digital characters Gollum and Caesar, is chosen to direct Sony Pictures’ upcoming ‘Venom’ sequel, set for October 2020 release.

Andy Serkis onset during filming on ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.’ Image TM and © 2014 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.

The competition to direct Sony Pictures’ upcoming Venom 2 appears to have a winner; veteran actor and director Andy Serkis will take the helm of the Venom sequel, set to hit theatres in October 2020, according to Deadline. Serkis is best known for innovative, state-of-the-art performance capture acting, including his powerful portrayals of the fully digital characters Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes trilogy. Serkis most recently directed Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle for Netflix, which starred Rohan Chand, Christian Bale and Benedict Cumberbatch and was based on Rudyard Kipling’s “All the Mowgli Stories” also made famous via adaptations by Disney in their classic 1967 animated tale, The Jungle Book, and Jon Favreau’s 2016 live-action / CG hybrid, The Jungle Book.

-- Watch AWN’s exclusive 2-part video interview with Andy Serkis from FMX 2014! --

Directors reportedly being considered for Venom 2 included LAIKA CEO and Bumblebee director Travis Knight as well as Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ Rupert Wyatt. Venom director Ruben Fleischer did not return for the anticipated sequel to the 2018 Marvel villain hit, which garnered over $850 million at the global box office, though Kelly Marcel, on of the film’s screenwriters, has returned to pen the next Tom Hardy shape-shifting alien symbiote film.

Source: Deadline

Dan Sarto's picture

Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.