The Critical Role crew recently revealed that Lord of the Rings icon Andy Serkis has joined the cast of The Legend of Vox Machina season 4 – and given a big tease as to what we can expect from his role.
The animated adaptation of Critical Role’s hugely popular Dungeons & Dragons web series is certainly no stranger to notable guest stars, with the latest addition joining an already impressive line-up including David Tennant, Dominic Monaghan, Stephanie Beatriz, Billy Boyd, and the late Lance Reddick.
However, the announcement from cast members Sam Riegel and Matt Mercer left out one major detail: just who Serkis will be voicing in the upcoming season, leading to plenty of speculation across social media.
Adapting the fourth arc of the first campaign, The Adventures of Taryon Darrington, the latest season introduces a host of larger-than-life characters to the animated universe.
Speaking exclusively to Radio Times, Critical Role cast member Taliesin Jaffe praised Serkis’s “powerful performance” and said he “can’t wait” for fans to see it.
The voice actor then revealed possibly the biggest clue to Serkis’s role yet, and suggested the character may be one of the season’s more fearsome figures.
“It’s very rare that after playing the game and listening to Matt do something for so long that you start to hear someone perform a part like that, and it’s somehow even more terrifying than being in that moment where you don’t know if you’re going to live or die,” he continued.
If Serkis is indeed playing one of the season’s antagonists, it certainly won’t be the first time he’s portrayed a villain.
Alongside Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, Serkis has also portrayed Supreme Leader Snoke in Star Wars, Ulysses Klaue in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Knull in Venom: The Last Dance.
When asked whether he’s had a “Gollum off” with Serkis yet, fellow cast member Liam O’Brien commented: “No one can challenge the King. He is the OG. He is Gollum. Anything I did was an homage to his incredible work.”
He also confirmed that “we all absolutely lost it” when the Lord of the Rings actor’s casting was finally confirmed.
“Andy Serkis is the pinnacle of everything to us,” Ashley Johnson added. “We all are such huge fans of his, such huge fans of Lord of the Rings.”
“That was sort of a pie-in-the-sky of like, ‘Dude, it would be so cool if we could get Andy Serkis.’ Then he said yes!”
Serkis isn’t the first Lord of the Rings cast member to join the animated fantasy series, with fellow actors Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd – who famously played hobbits Merry and Pippin – previously lending their voice to The Legend of Vox Machina.
Travis Willingham, CEO of Critical Role and the voice of Grog Strongjaw on the series, joked that the team has a very specific goal in mind.
“We’re basically just trying to find a role for everyone from Lord of the Rings. Sean Bean’s out there. Elijah Wood, we’ll get there, but we’re doing our best!”
The first three episodes of The Legend of Vox Machina season 4 are available to stream now on Prime Video. Seasons 1-3 are currently available to stream on Prime Video – you can sign up now for a free 30-day Prime Video trial.
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