Way back in 2014 it was announced that Andy Serkis had signed on to direct an adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book for Warner Bros. Pictures.
Despite shooting in 2015, the film – originally titled Jungle Book: Origins was pushed back to 2017 and then 2018, allowing more time to work on the visual effects, as well as shifting it from Disney’s own live-action adaptation The Jungle Book from director Jon Favreau, which hit cinemas in April 2016.
Well, we’re now just a little under a year away from its October 19th 2018 release date, and Serkis has been chatting to Variety about the project, revealing that it has been testing under the title of Mowgli: Tales from the Jungle Book.
“[That title is] not 100%, but it’s more than likely heading in that direction,” states Serkis. “Because it’s much more about that character. It’s a Mowgli-centric story. It’s about identity. The film really examines, in a tone that’s much closer to Rudyard Kipling’s book, what it is to be other.”
SEE ALSO: Andy Serkis on how his Jungle Book movie differs from Disney’s
You can also see Andy talking about his Jungle Book movie in our exclusive interview below…
Mowgli: Tales from the Jungle Book features a cast that includes Rohan Chand (Mowgli), Benedict Cumberbatch (Shere Khan), Cate Blanchett (Kaa), Christian Bale (Bagheera), Naomie Harris (Nisha), Tom Hollander (Tabaqui), Peter Mullan (Akela) and Eddie Marsan (Vihaan).