Andy Serkis‘ Jungle Book: Origins wordt Mowgli

Regisseur Andy Serkis‘ aankomende Jungle Book film, had oorspronkelijk Jungle Book: Origins als titel. Vervolgens werd de naam simpelweg The Jungle Book. Nu is de titel van de film omgedoopt tot Mowgli. Warner Bros. heeft tevens een nieuwe synopsis vrijgegeven, welke je hieronder kunt lezen.

Blending live action and performance capture, the story follows the upbringing of the human child Mowgli (Rohan Chand) 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 (Andy Serkis) and a panther named Bagheera (Christian Bale), Mowgli becomes accepted by the animals of the jungle as one of their own. All but one: the fearsome tiger Shere Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch). But there may be greater dangers lurking in the jungle, as Mowgli comes face to face with his human origins. The other story’s central animal characters are: Kaa, the snake (Cate Blanchett); the leader of the wolf pack, Akela (Peter Mullan); the scavenging hyena, Tabaqui (Tom Hollander); Nisha, the female wolf (Naomie Harris), who adopts the baby Mowgli as one of her cubs; Nisha’s mate, Vihaan (Eddie Marsan); and Mowgli’s Brother Wolf (Jack Reynor). Freida Pinto and Matthew Rhys also star.

Walt Disney Pictures rivaal Jungle Book film, geregisseerd door Jon Favreau, haalde meer dan $966 miljoen op wereldwijd in 2016.  Serkis heeft eerder aangegeven dat zijn film anders zal zijn dan de Disney-film. Serkis vertelde eerder aan Vulture:

“Ours is for a slightly older audience. It’s a PG-13, more a kind of ‘Apes’ movie, a slightly darker take, closer to Rudyard Kipling’s. It’s great to scare kids in a safe environment because it’s an important part of development, and we all loved to be scared as kids, so we shouldn’t overly protect them. Kids are so sophisticated, and that is why our ‘Jungle Book’ is quite dark. … It’s a story of an outsider, someone who is trying to accept the laws and customs of a particular way of living and then has to adapt to another culture, a human culture, which of course he should be able to adapt to, because this is what he is. So it’s about two different species and their laws and customs, and neither are entirely right.”