The film will now be called 'Mowgli' and is set for release in 2018.
'The Jungle Book' is without a doubt one of the best known stories on the planet, but for many, especially in the Western world, it's something that's renowned because of its place in Disney. The classic story that was told through animation was in 2016 brought to live-action by Jon Favreau, but he's not the only filmmaker to become enamoured by Rudyard Kipling's 'Jungle Book' story.
Andy Serkis is bringing the 'Jungle Book' story to the big screen once more
For some time, Andy Serkis - best known for his role as Gollum in the 'Lord of the Rings' film series - has also been working on a live-action film adaptation of the 'Jungle Book' story, with a movie now officially scheduled to come out in 2018.
Following the success that Disney's live-action release saw, there was initially some doubt about whether or not Serkis could do the same with his picture. Fortunately, it's something he still wants to push ahead with, and he's got some big names alongside him in the journey.
This week, in a preview for Warner Bros. official 2018 slate, it was revealed that the Serkis adaptation would be simply called 'Mowgli'.
Along with the official title for the film came a brand new synopsis, which reads: "Blending live action and performance capture, the story follows the upbringing of the human child Mowgli (Rohan Chand) 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 (Andy Serkis) and a panther named Bagheera (Christian Bale), Mowgli becomes accepted by the animals of the jungle as one of their own. All but one: the fearsome tiger Shere Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch). But there may be greater dangers lurking in the jungle, as Mowgli comes face to face with his human origins. The other story’s central animal characters are: Kaa, the snake (Cate Blanchett); the leader of the wolf pack, Akela (Peter Mullan); the scavenging hyena, Tabaqui (Tom Hollander); Nisha, the female wolf (Naomie Harris), who adopts the baby Mowgli as one of her cubs; Nisha’s mate, Vihaan (Eddie Marsan); and Mowgli’s Brother Wolf (Jack Reynor)."
The synopsis doesn't sound hugely different to the plot we've seen in both of Disney's versions of the story, but we imagine that a darker tone will definitely be something that's brought to proceedings by Serkis and the incomparable cast brought together here. Whether or not audiences will be receptive to that darker tone if it does indeed embed itself throughout the tale however, remains to be seen.
More: Andy Serkis Has Major Differences In His 'Jungle Book' Movie
'Mowgli' is set for cinema release on October 19, 2018.
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