Andy Serkis joins Freida Pinto in 'Planet Of The Apes' prequel

Andy Serkis, who starred as Gollum in The Lord Of The Rings films and as Kong in King Kong, has been cast in the Planet Of The Apes prequel Rise Of The Apes.

According to Variety, the actor will play the key role of Caesar in the 20th Century Fox film, which stars James Franco, Freida Pinto and John Lithgow.

Andy plays the chimp who leads an uprising among the apes, reports the Mirror.

Set in present day San Francisco, the film deals with the consequences of man's experiments with genetic engineering leading to development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.

Rupert Wyatt is directing the film, from a script by Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa.