After making his MCU debut in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Andy Serkis is returning to the Marvel fold. In addition to the casting of Winston Duke as M’Baku, The Wrap confirmed that Serkis will be returning as Ulysses Klaue / Klaw in Marvel’s Black Panther.
That officially brings our number of villains to three for the film as Michael B. Jordan joined the film earlier this year and was confirmed to be playing Erik Killmonger at SDCC.
A villain of not only Panther, but the Avengers and the Fantastic Four – Klaue first appeared in 1966 in the comics. A physicist working in the field of applied sonics, Klaue started working on a device that converted sound into mass but in order to power the device, he stole vibranium bringing him into conflict with T’Chaka, T’Challa’s father and preceding Black Panther. Of course, Klaue kills T’Chaka, sending T’Challa on a quest for vengeance. T’Challa achieved his goal, sending Klaue packing but not before he loses his hand in the process. Klaue eventually replaced it with a sonic emitter that could create an object or creature out of sound. He also later develops the ability to turn into pure sound following the creation of another device.
The MCU version of Klaue as we know, is an arms dealer that is an acquaintance of Tony Stark’s from his weapons days. The issue of Klaue’s vibranium theft is still there as he has a brand on his neck labeling him as such in the Wakandan language. Ultron later cuts off his arm after Klaue makes the deadly mistake of comparing him to Stark.
It is also very interesting that we will have two characters in Wakanda that will need new arms with Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier being frozen in one of the post credit scenes in Civil War. It’s all connected folks!
Serkis himself needs no introduction. A master of motion capture, Serkis is known for his performances in the reboots of Planet of the Apes franchise, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Lord of the Rings trilogy and more.
Directed by Ryan Coogler, Marvel’s Black Panther hits theaters February 16, 2018.