Matt Reeves confirms Andy Serkis will play Alfred Pennyworth in The Batman

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Matt Reeves has been assembling one hell of a cast for THE BATMAN, and he confirmed on Twitter earlier today that Andy Serkis (WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES) has signed on to play Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's butler. The actor was said to be in talks for the role a little over a week ago, and it seems that everything is now official.

Given that Andy Serkis has quite a history with director Matt Reeves thanks their collaboration on DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES and WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES, it's not surprising that he'll have a part to play in THE BATMAN as well. Serkis will be joining Robert Pattinson (THE LIGHTHOUSE) as the Dark Knight, Zoë Kravitz (Big Little Lies) as Catwoman, Paul Dano (SWISS ARMY MAN) as The Riddler, and Jeffrey Wright (NO TIME TO DIE) as Commissioner Gordon. It was also reported that Colin Farrell (DUMBO) was in talks to play Penguin, so if those discussions pans out, we should hear a confirmation about that before too long. We've seen several incarnations of Alfred Pennyworth over the years, including Michael Gough in the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher series, Michael Caine in Christopher Nolan's DARK KNIGHT trilogy, Jeremy Irons in BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE and JUSTICE LEAGUE, and Douglas Hodge in JOKER.  We still don't know all that much about THE BATMAN at this stage, but Matt Reeves has teased that it will finally do justice to Batman's reputation of the World's Greatest Detective.

It’s very much a point of view-driven, noir Batman tale. It’s told very squarely on his shoulders, and I hope it’s going to be a story that will be thrilling but also emotional. It’s more Batman in his detective mode than we’ve seen in the films. The comics have a history of that. He’s supposed to be the world’s greatest detective, and that’s not necessarily been a part of what the movies have been. I’d love this to be one where when we go on that journey of tracking down the criminals and trying to solve a crime, it’s going to allow his character to have an arc so that he can go through a transformation.

THE BATMAN is already slated for a June 25, 2021 release.