British actor Andy Serkis will play loyal butler Alfred in the upcoming Batman film, it has been announced.

Serkis, known for his work voicing Gollum in the Lord Of The Rings films, was confirmed in the role by director Matt Reeves on Twitter.

He joins a cast including Robert Pattinson as Batman, Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman and Paul Dano as supervillain The Riddler.

Irish actor Colin Farrell is reportedly in talks to star in the film, titled The Batman, as villain Penguin.

The film is set for release in June 2021.

London-born Serkis, 55, famously lent his voice to the computer-generated character of Gollum in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, while his other film credits include superhero movies Avengers: Age Of Ultron and Black Panther.

Sir Michael Caine played Alfred Pennyworth in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy, which starred Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader.