Gallery: Andy Serkis joins cast of indie game 'Volume' Gallery Gallery: Andy Serkis joins cast of indie game 'Volume' + 1



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Developer Mike Bithell has scored more big-name talent for his upcoming second game Volume, with the announcement that Andy Serkis will be joining the voice cast of the sci-fi stealth title.


The game is an updating of the Robin Hood legend, with Serkis playing the role of Guy Gisborne, reimagined as a villainous CEO who runs England in a corporate-owned future. Bithell made the casting announcement onstage at a special "Gisborne Industries Launch" event in Nottingham this evening. "We got really lucky with Andy, he was top of my dream list for the role, and thankfully, he liked the script, the character, and the look of the project," Bithell tells WIRED.co.uk. "We managed to fit recording for the game around his frankly ridiculous schedule and we were away."

Serkis is no stranger to digital realms -- the actor portrays virtual characters such as The Lord of the Rings' Gollum and Planet of the Apes' chimp messiah Caesar with incredible talent and regularity. He joins YouTuber Charlie McDonnell and author/actor Danny Wallace to complete the principal voice cast. McDonnell plays Rob Locksley, the modern Robin Hood who robs information from the rich and broadcasts it to the poor, while Wallace voices Alan, his AI companion.

The mythical Guy of Gisbourne serves various roles in the development of the Robin Hood legends, but is usually a foil for Robin and often a rival for Maid Marian's affections. Like the data raiding Robin, Gisborne's agenda in Volume is similarly updated and brought to life by Serkis, with Bithell telling us "Andy brings a great amount of gravitas to the character of Gisborne -- a man driven to profound rage as his kingdom starts to falter at the hands of a Locksley. It's a startling performance."

Bithell hit big with his indie game Thomas Was Alone, a beautifully minimalist platformer about the existentialist concerns of rectangles. A critical and commercial success, he now employs a cadre of "coders, artists, writers, actors and sound designers, all focused on bringing new worlds and stories to life".

Volume launches in 2015 -- final date TBC -- initially on PlayStation 4 and Vita, with PC and Mac versions following a month afterwards.