Uh oh. It’s going to be a tough decision for cinephiles to make because both Disney and Marvel will be rebooting the Kipling’s classic animal adventure novel, “The Jungle Book”!
Earlier in 2012, Steve Kloves (known for writing most of the “Harry Potter” movies) was hired by Warner Bros again to write and direct a live-action film adaptation of “The Jungle Book”. At that time, the studio hasn’t confirmed the cast members and there weren’t much updates about the film. Now that Disney is rebooting the film as well, Warner Bros has stepped up to announce the cast members of the film and its release date.
In case you didn’t know, Shere Khan is a wicked man-eating tiger who views the young Mowgli as his lifelong enemy in “The Jungle Book”. The famous incarnation of Shere Khan is voiced by George Sanders in Disney’s animated 1967 musical version of “The Jungle Book”.
Idris Elba (L) & Benedict Cumberbatch (R) to voice Shere Khan
It was recently reported that the Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch has been cast to voice the villainous tiger Shere Khan in Warner Bros’ film adaptation of “The Jungle Book”. However, Walt Disney Pictures is currently developing a live-action/CGI adaptation of the book as well, with Idris Elba cast as Shere Khan.
A tad confusing? Here, let us break it down for you:
Disney
- Title: The Jungle Book
- Release date: October 9, 2015
- Director: Jon Favreau
- Writer: Justin Marks
- Confirmed cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Idris Elba, Ben Kingsley, Christopher Walken, Giancarlo Esposito, Scarlett Johansson, Lupita Nyong’o
- Plot summary: An orphan boy is raised in the Jungle with the help of a pack of wolves, a bear, and a black panther.
Warner Bros
- Title: The Jungle Book: Origins.
- Release date: October 21, 2015
- Director: Andy Serkis
- Writer: Steve Kloves
- Confirmed cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Naomie Harris, Tom Hollander, Eddie Marsan and Peter Mullan
- Plot summary: Based on Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book”, the film tells the story of Mowgli, a boy raised by wolves, was kidnapped by monkeys and rescued by his animal friends, including Baloo the Bear, Bagheera the panther, and Kaa the python.
Clearly, it is a stiff competition between both studio as both films are set to be released in October next year!
On top of that, both films are helmed by well-known writers and directors as well. Jon Favreau has previously directed Marvel’s “Iron Man” franchises while Andy Serkis, who is known for his role as “Gollum” in the “The Hobbit” trilogy, will be making his directorial debut with this film. The filming for Disney’s version of “The Jungle Book” kicked off on 5th August.
Truth be told, we love the stellar cast here and we just can’t wait to watch both of the films! Which version of “The Jungle Book” would you prefer? Let us know in the comment box below!
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