Yesterday it was revealed that Andy Serkis is in talks to play Alfred Pennyworth in The Batman. His casting isn’t 100% official yet, but his previous collaboration with director Matt Reeves on the Planet of the Apes movies suggests that negotiations will go well. The Caesar star is a bit of a left-field choice to play Bruce Wayne’s loyal butler, though, so what could Serkis look like as the character?
Well, here’s how Boss Logic has imagined it could go. The following artwork puts Serkis in Alfred’s pristine uniform, but gives it a blood-stained twist, as if he’s been splattered while witnessing one of Master Bruce’s fights.
“The cool thing about @andyserkis is that he would do anything to look the part,” BL wrote in his caption for the post.
If Serkis signs along the dotted line, he’ll be – get this – the seventh Alfred we’ve had on our screens this decade. His forebears over the last few years include Michael Caine (The Dark Knight Rises), Sean Pertwee (Gotham), Jeremy Irons (Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League), Ralph Fiennes (The Lego Batman Movie), Douglas Hodge (Joker) and Jack Bannon in the Pennyworth prequel TV series.
We’ve seen Alfred depicted in myriad different ways recently, then, so Serkis has a tall order in bringing something new to the table. But we’re confident that he’ll be able to impress as the custodian of Wayne Manor. There’s a sinister edge to this Boss Logic piece, too, and considering the star’s knack for playing villains, he could give his Alfred a certain ruthlessness that the right-hand man of Batman would have.
We also just learned that Colin Farrell is in talks to play the Penguin, which is interesting as Serkis was previously linked to the role of Oswald Cobblepot instead. Given how Jonah Hill was seen for both Penguin and Riddler, though, before he dropped out the race, it’s likely Reeves and Serkis played around with which part in The Batman was the best fit for him before settling on Alfred.
