Andy Serkis and His Daughter to Star in Netflix Adaptation of 'The Letter for the King'

Netflix has announced it is currently working on an adaptation of the book The Letter for the King by Dutch writer Tonke Dragt. If the prospect of a new fantasy adventure sounds exciting to you, then you’ll be pleased to learn that Lord of the Rings actor Andy Serkis is set to star, along with his daughter Ruby Serkis. An official teaser trailer has just been released.

As Entertainment Weekly reports, the plot follows a young squire named Tiuri, played by Amir Wilson, who’s tasked with delivering an important message to the king. Andy Serkis plays the role of the scheming Mayor of Mistrinaut, a former trading hub that’s experiencing difficulties, while Ruby Serkis plays his sharp-witted daughter Lavinia.

“It’s been a really interesting dynamic because we’re playing versions of ourselves but we’re not ourselves,” said Andy Serkis in a press release. “Where do we cross over as human beings? Where do we crossover as father and daughter? Obviously these characters are very different, but we’re using a shorthand that we know with each other.”

Serkis is well known for his roles which saw he true features replaced by CGI, in particular for his role as Gollum in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but in this role his face will remain unchanged. “I’d never actually seen what he looks like,” laughed Wilson. “It’s quite mental, actually.”

The fantasy genre is booming right now, and the genre of gritty, adult fantasy has been big ever since Game of Thrones became a hit, but this will be a more family friendly show. “You can enjoy the adventure without a lot of violence,” assures Wilson. The Letter for the King is set to be released on Netflix later this year on March 20.