Matt Reeves has assembled a stellar cast for The Batman, but a lot of the major roles are filled by actors you wouldn’t have expected to see take a trip to Gotham City. Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight has obviously generated plenty of debate and more than a little criticism, but that feeling of the unexpected runs right through the cast.
The most notable example came when Reeves hired the roguishly handsome Colin Farrell to play Oswald Cobblepot, only to bury him under an unrecognizable amount of prosthetics. John Turturro is arguably best known for his comedic work but will play fearsome crime boss Carmine Falcone, and while Paul Dano is a fantastic actor, he was hardly an obvious choice for iconic villain the Riddler.
Alfred Pennyworth is typically depicted as the stoic, dignified confidant to Batman, but it’s safe to assume Andy Serkis will be bringing a harder edge to the character than we’ve seen in live-action before. In a new interview with Uproxx, the Venom: Let There Be Carnage director revealed why he signed on as Bruce Wayne’s butler.
“It was definitely to work with Matt. I’d love to be able to talk about it, but I can’t talk anything about it. I’ve been forbidden to talk about Alfred!”
That’s hardly the most illuminating answer, but it’s clear Serkis and Reeves formed a bond working on the rebooted Planet of the Apes trilogy. The Batman is sure to put a different spin on the Bruce/Alfred dynamic, and Serkis is a massively underrated actor that arguably doesn’t get enough opportunities to show what he can do without performance capture being involved.
Published: Sep 26, 2021 05:22 am