Andy Serkis is to direct an animated adaptation of 'Animal Farm'.

The 58-year-old actor and filmmaker is to helm a take on George Orwell's dystopian fable, which tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human owner in the hope of creating a society where they can be free and equal, for Aniventure and his company The Imaginarium.

Nicholas Stoller has adapted the screenplay for Serkis' long-awaited movie, which had previously been set up at Netflix, and will produce with Adam Nagle, Dave Rosenbaum and Jonathan Cavendish.

Andy said: "The challenging journey to bring this extraordinary story to the screen has been finally rewarded by the opportunity to partner with the brilliant team at Aniventure and Cinesite.

"Together we hope to make our version of Orwell's ever relevant masterpiece, emotionally powerful, humourous, and relatable for all ages. A tale not only for our times, but for generations to come."

Nagle added: "Ever since 1945, when George Orwell first published 'Animal Farm', the story has remained relevant and a key instrument in understanding how the world works.

"Andy has had a special talent for creating unique and memorable characters during his remarkable career and we're thrilled to be working with him, Jonathan and Cinesite to adapt 'Animal Farm' for modern audiences."

Serkis is famed for his motion capture acting and credits it for keeping him fit as physicality is required for a lot of his roles.

The 'Lord of the Rings' star explained: "It's kept me fit, especially the more physical roles like Caesar (in the 'Planet of the Apes' films), who goes from an infant chimpanzee right through into adulthood.

"I've always been quite a physical person and enjoy mountaineering, climbing and cycling. But those roles take it out of you, for sure."