Star Wars fanatics have reason to be ecstatic today since a few precious details about Andy Serkis' character in Star Wars: The Force Awakens have finally been revealed.
The seventh installment, which would be the first of a third trilogy will bring back old stars such as Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), and Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and also introduce some newbies like Girls' Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), Lupita Nyong'o (Maz Kanata), John Boyega (Finn), and Daisy Ridley (Rey).
So what of Serkis' character? According to famed photographer Annie Leibovitz, who spoke in an interview with StarWars.com, he would be playing Supreme Leader Snoke. No other details have been provided about his character, except that he would be sporting tracking dots on his face and carry a piercing, stormy expression.
In the first trailer of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which was released back in 2014, Serkis was heard speaking in a menacing voice, and many have then decided that he would be playing a villainous role.
Serkis has had a successful history playing characters (one a villain, the other the lead) with the help of motion-capture technology. In the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films, he played Gollum and his alter-ego Smeagol.
In the Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, he played the highly intelligent Caesar.
Although a lot of excitement has been built around the story and the new characters, Leibovitz said that for her, the thing that held the most appeal was Ford's return to the franchise.
"One of the more emotional parts of going back this time was seeing Harrison Ford," Leibovitz said. "To me...this cover was really Harrison's photograph. He provided the foundation and experience to allow these young actors to really shine."
Other photos taken by the photographer showed Driver as the "next generation bad guy," Game of Thrones actress Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma, and Oscar Isaac as the "dashing resistance pilot Poe Dameron." Maz Kanata was also there, replete with tracking dots on her face. She is described as a "computer-generated pirate."
According to the movie plot, it will be "a continuation of the saga created by George Lucas set thirty years after Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)."
Star Wars: The Force Awaken will be released on December 18, 2015. It will be directed by J.J. Abrams.
