Andy Serkis (Burke and Hare) will star as Caesar, “the chimp who leads the simian revolt” in Rise of the Apes, the Rupert Wyatt (The Escapist) directed Planet of the Apes prequel. Serkis is no stranger to motion capture roles, having played the greatest of apes, King Kong in director Peter Jackson‘s 2005 remake and of course, Gollum in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (also directed by Jackson).

The film will focus on a scientist (Franco) who has been working on a cure for Alzheimer’s that is being tested on apes. The test subject named Caesar (Serkis) evolves rapidly, and the scientist takes him home to live with him and protects him from cruel doctors.

The casting news was revealed by 20th Century Fox via twitter. Serkis joins the recently cast John Lithgow (Dexter), Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire), along with James Franco (Spider-Man) in the lead (Human) role. With WETA handling the MoCap tech and effects for Rise of the Apes, this role would seem to be a bit of a homecoming for Serkis.

Rise of the Apes is slated to hit theaters on June 24th, 2011.