'Jungle Book: Origins' from Andy Serkis postponed to 2017
The Warner Bros adaptation of "The Jungle Book" will arrive in US theaters October 6, 2017 -- two years after Disney's version.
Initially due to open in October 2016, "Jungle Book: Origins" has been postponed by one year. This means the new take on the Rudyard Kipling classic will be even further behind Disney's adaptation of the same work, which is due to bow on October 9.
Warner's blockbuster will be helmed by Andy Serkis, who joined the project last March after the successive withdrawals of Alejandro Gonzales Inarittu and Ron Howard. The production will be Serkis's feature debut. The 49-year-old actor has already gained some experience as a second unit director on Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" trilogy, in which he also plays Gollum in one of the motion capture performances he is best known for.
Serkis will also be in the voice cast of the film, which will combine live action and animation. He will voice Baloo opposite Benedict Cumberbatch as Shere Khan, Christian Bale as Bagheera and Cate Blanchett as Kaa, among others.
The Disney version will be helmed by Jon Favreau and will feature Idris Elba (Shere Khan), Bill Murray (Baloo), Scarlett Johansson (Kaa), Lupita Nyong'o (Raksha) and Christopher Walken (King Louie).
First published in 1894, "The Jungle Book" is a collection of stories, including three about the orphan boy Mowgli, who befriends Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear in the Indian jungle. For the time being, the most famous silver screen adaptation remains Disney's 1967 animated film, which is rather watered down compared to the original stories.
