Sometimes the early bird gets the worm. Years ago, Warner Bros. announced their version of The Jungle Book was coming, but Disney had the same idea, and got theirs in front of audiences faster. Jon Favreau‘s 2015 adaptation of the Rudyard Kipling classic was a big hit at the box office and won an Oscar for VFX, leading the Warner Bros. project to fall off the map and head back into development.
However, now with Favreau busy on Disney’s remake of The Lion King, his Jungle Book sequel is way off in the distance, and Warner Bros. have pounced and put the wheels back in motion for their own version of The Jungle Book, which will be helmed by Andy Serkis. Previously titled Jungle Book: Origins, the film has now been retitled Mowgli.
There’s also an official synopsis:
“The story follows the upbringing of the human child Mowgli, raised by a wolf pack in the jungles of India. As he learns the often harsh rules of the jungle, under the tutelage of a bear named Baloo and a panther named Bagheera, Mowgli becomes accepted by the animals of the jungle as one of their own.
All but one: the fearsome tiger Shere Khan. But there may be greater dangers lurking in the jungle, as Mowgli comes face to face with his human origins”.
The core of the story is the same, but Serkis had previously described his take on the material as “darker”, and he’s also got an impressive cast at his disposal, which includes Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Naomie Harris and Eddie Marsan.
The script comes from Callie Kloves and the film will combine live-action and motion-capture technology, which might be the most interesting part of this alternate Jungle Book film, as Disney decided to steer clear of of motion-capture in favour of pure CGI animation, so it will be interesting to see if Serkis – an expert with motion-capture technology – can bring something different to the material.
The film is currently slated to arrive in cinemas on October 19, 2018.
#Peace.Love.Mowgli
