Andy Serkis Is the STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Trailer Narrator (No Matter What AIN'T IT COOL NEWS Says)

When the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer hit the Internet on Friday, one of the biggest mysteries fans were trying to solve was the identity of the trailer's voiceover source. "There's been an awakening. Have you felt it?" the voiceover asks. "The dark side ... and the light ..."

At first listen, it sure sounded like director JJ Abrams had gotten his Star Trek Into Darkness castmember Benedict Cumberbatch involved with The Force Awakens. Cumberbatch had long been rumored to be in talks for role in the upcoming Star Wars movie — was this another example of Abrams' trickery?

Drew McWeeny over at Hitfix cleared things up on Friday night, reporting that the source of the voiceover was Andy Serkis. Sadly, other pop culture media figures tried to muddle the story as the night went on.

"For the record, that is Andy Serkis you hear in the trailer," McWeeny writes. "I was able to verify this, although I was not able to uncover any further information about the role he plays. Here's what I do know, though. He's playing a pivotal role in the film, although he will not have a lot of screen time."

Serkis was part of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens cast announced way back in May. Like McWeeny says, we have no idea who Serkis is playing. We're just not used to hearing Serkis talk in a way that sounds like the trailer voiceover. Honestly, though, once you're in a Serkis mindset, it's not hard to realize that's him in the trailer. Imagine Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' Caesar with a much stronger grasp of language.

This story should be over at this point, but Ain't It Cool News founder Harry Knowles took to Twitter reporting that the voiceover wasn't Serkis.

OK - so officially - that voice over is NOT ANDY SERKIS...
— Harry Knowles (@headgeek666) November 29, 2014

McWeeny didn't let Knowles' misinformation campaign last very long.

@alepoutre @headgeek666 Not surprising? Well, since I was right and Harry was WRONG, how about a fucking apology?
— DrewAtHitFix (@DrewAtHitFix) November 29, 2014

@DrewAtHitFix @alepoutre I didn't say YOU WERE WRONG, I was just passing along the source at LUCASFILM's categorical denial.
— Harry Knowles (@headgeek666) November 29, 2014

@headgeek666 Fucking great. I've now got days of "But Harry said.." to look forward to. Fantastic.
— DrewAtHitFix (@DrewAtHitFix) November 29, 2014

@DrewAtHitFix AND once a source that can't be denied confirmed you, I corrected the "wrong information that I was given from official source
— Harry Knowles (@headgeek666) November 29, 2014

McWeeny even vehemently told me he wasn't wrong on Twitter.

@billkuchman @headgeek666 NO. I WAS NOT WRONG.
— DrewAtHitFix (@DrewAtHitFix) November 29, 2014

It's not surprising that Knowles and Ain't It Cool News bombed on this one. If you made it through Knowles' reaction to the Force Awakens trailer, it's clear he has no idea what he's talking about when it comes to Star Wars.

Knowles wastes no time mentioning the spies he has on the new Star Wars movie (which I'm guessing are just people who read Making Star Wars), but still thinks that Cumberbatch will be in The Force Awakens — and hopes that he's going to be playing Thrawn. You know, Thrawn, the character from the Expanded Universe that no longer exists and who every website with a real source on Episode VII has known isn't in the movie for years.

It's unfortunate that someone like Knowles got a super special screening of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer Friday morning despite being so uninformed and eager to spread misinformation.