It was just over two years ago that Disney’s live-action/computer-animated remake of The Jungle Book hit theaters, and did quite a number on the domestic and international box offices. As such, we can’t help feel the shadow of director Jon Favreau’s success story looming over Andy Serkis‘ go at the material for Warner Bros., even as the new flick sets out to establish itself as a “darker” version of the tale via its first trailer:
Grimmer by a hair and light on the suggestion of musicality, Serkis’ Mowgli nevertheless hasn’t yet shown us what will really separate it from Favreau’s take. That said, one thing it does invariably have going for it is an all-star cast. In this first look, we meet Jungle Book favorites Akela the wolf (Peter Mullan), Bagheera the panther (Christian Bale), Kaa the snake (Cate Blanchett), Shere Khan the treacherous tiger (Benedict Cumberbatch), and, if only briefly, fan favorite Baloo the bear (Serkis himself.)
The lineup doesn’t cut out there, as we also have the performances of Naomie Harris and Eddie Marsan as a pair of wolves and Tom Hollander as Tabaqui the jackal. The trailer also brings us face to face with Mowgli himself, Rohan Chand, who, at 14, has already amounted some pretty big name pictures: the Adam Sandler movie Jack & Jill, the War in Afghanistan picture Lone Survivor, and the blockbuster Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.
Mowgli hits theaters October 19. Do you think it will bring something new to the table of Rudyard Kipling adaptations? Let us know!
Image: Warner Bros
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