Actor/director Andy Serkis, best known for his motion capture work in the "Lord of the Rings" and "Planet of the Apes" franchises, has been tapped to direct "Venom 2."

Serkis was one of the names on the short list to take over the sequel from the 2018 original's director, Ruben Fleischer.

"Venom" was a massive hit, earning $856 million worldwide. It also proved that Sony could develop a "Spider-Man"-adjacent universe based on side characters and villains.

Tom Hardy will return as the journalist who joins with an alien symbiote.

This is Serkis’ first time directing a superhero movie, though he has helmed feature films, including "Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle" and the drama "Breathe."

His expertise with performance-capture technology is one of the reasons Sony decided to give Serkis the job, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Serkis celebrated the news on an Instagram post: