George Orwell’s Animal Farm will be adapted by The Imaginarium, a performance capture studio co-founded by Andy Serkis–the actor who portrayed Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit.

Serkis will direct and act in the Orwell adaptation. Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish opened the studio in 2011, making their mark with Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Serkis had this statement in the release: ”We are delighted to officially announce our involvement in bringing this classic yet controversial fable to life, hopefully allowing it to resonate for our times with a combination of a fresh perspective, real emotional heart, a great deal of humor and satire … By utilizing performance capture, a deeply talented and committed cast of actors will be able to explore and fully inhabit Orwell’s fairy tale world where ‘some animals are more equal than others.’”

The studio has also secured the rights to The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon, a Bloomsbury book that won’t be released until August 2013. (Image via Facebook)