The principal photography has begun on Warner Bros. Pictures’ new big-screen, 3D adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s beloved classic The Jungle Book, marking the feature film directorial debut of Andy Serkis, who plays the role of the ape Caesar in the Planet of the Apes franchise. Blending live action and performance capture, the film features an impressive roster of stars, including Oscar winners Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett and Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch.
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.
Jungle Book: Origins’ has extensive visual effects. Apart from this Serkis has two massive movies coming out this year, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
However, Jungle Book: Origins will open a full two years after Disney’s competing project, which is due out 9 October, 2015. Disney’s The Jungle Book is being directed by Jon Favreau and features a similarly star-studded cast including Ben Kingsley (Bagheera), Idris Elba (Shere Khan), Bill Murray (Baloo), Scarlett Johansson (Kaa), Christopher Walken, Lupita Nyong’o, and Giancarlo Esposito.
Jungle Book: Origins will also arrive one year after the studio’s other boy-in-the-jungle tale, Tarzan. That one is dated for 1 July, 2016 and is directed by David Yates, with Alexander Skarsgĺrd, Samuel L. Jackson, Margot Robbie and Christoph Waltz starring.
The actors – in Serkis’ version – performing the roles of the story’s central animal characters are: Benedict Cumberbatch as the tiger – Shere Khan; Cate Blanchett as Kaa – the snake; Christian Bale as the panther – Bagheera; Andy Serkis as Baloo, the bear; Peter Mullan as the leader of the wolf pack, Akela; Tom Hollander as the scavenging hyena – Tabaqui; Naomie Harris as Nisha, the female wolf, who adopts the baby Mowgli as one of her cubs; Eddie Marsan as Nisha’s mate – Vihaan; and Jack Reynor as Mowgli’s Brother Wolf. On the human side, young actor Rohan Chand will play the boy raised by wolves – Mowgli.
The film is being produced by Steve Kloves, who wrote seven of the Harry Potter films, and Jonathan Cavendish, with Nikki Penny serving as executive producer. The screenplay is by Callie Kloves, based on the stories by Kipling.
Among those collaborating with Serkis behind the scenes are production designer Gary Freeman, Oscar-winning editor Mark Sanger and Oscar-winning costume designer Alexandra Byrne.
The film is slated for release on 6 October, 2017.
