Andy Serkis is still best known as a pioneer of motion capture technology thanks to his groundbreaking work as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but he’s continued branching out and diversifying his portfolio in the two decades since. One of his most memorable live-action roles came as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Ulysses Klaue, and it looks as though the arms dealer will be making his return in an episode of the animated What If…?.
The heavily-accented Klaue made a brief appearance as a secondary antagonist in Avengers: Age of Ultron, falling foul of the titular villain and losing an arm before he was killed off by Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger in his very next appearance in Black Panther, as the former Erik Stevens brought the vibranium merchant’s body back to Wakanda as a twisted peace offering of sorts.
How he could potentially fit into What If…? is anyone’s guess when the entire concept of the show is imagining well-known MCU scenarios unfolding in drastically different circumstances, but it should be a blast to hear Serkis chewing on the animated scenery again. The 57 year-old’s not so subtle hint came when he shared the recently released official poster on his Instagram account accompanied by the caption “GUESS WHO’S BACK?!?”, so we can take that as a pretty solid confirmation.
What If…? is just one of several high profile comic book adaptations that Serkis has coming in the near future, with his third directorial effort Venom: Let There Be Carnage coming to theaters in September, while he’ll be seen offering sage advice to Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne as Alfred Pennyworth when Matt Reeves’ The Batman finally arrives in March of next year.