29 May – He was previously seen onscreen as supervillain Ulysses in "Avengers: Age of Ultron", later this year Andy Serkis will once again be seen on the big screen in another blockbuster, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens". While the actor's involvement in the seventh "Star Wars" has been no secret, his role in it has been a mystery up until now. The official Star Wars website has recently revealed that Serkis will be playing the role of Supreme Leader Snoke. In an interview with photographer Annie Leibovitz, who has been visiting Star Wars sets for Vanity Fair photoshoots starting with 1999's "The Phantom Menace" up until the latest instalment, Starwars.com stated "A previously unpublished photo of Andy Serkis [pictured above], also sporting mo-cap gear for his portrayal of Supreme Leader Snoke, is available here exclusively."
Serkis is no stranger to motion capture by now as he has donned the gear multiple times to portray Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" franchises, also to play Caesar in "The Planet of the Apes" movie series. He also served as motion picture consultant on 2014's "Godzilla" and this year's "Avengers: Age of Ultron". Next he put on his director hat for the live-action 2017 movie, "Jungle Book: Origins". Other than the upcoming "Star Wars: The Force Awakens", Serkis will also be seen next in 2017's "War of the Planet of the Apes" and will be reprising his role as Ulysses in 2018's "Black Panther". (Photo source: starwars.com)