Andy Serkis’ live-action take on The Jungle Book is getting nearer, and we’ve got the first full trailer to prove it.
Now heading to Netflix (before a brief planned theatrical run) on the 7thof December, the film looks a very different from the other adaptations of Rudyard Kipling’s book, including the 1967 Disney classic and the 2016 remake.
Serkis’ version looks to be darker, grittier and slightly more faithful to the source material – although the new trailer does show that the film is delving more into Mowgli’s (Rohan Chand) backstory and adding a lot more human characters to the tale of a boy raised by animals in the jungles of India.
Serkis is directing as well as playing Baloo the bear (who now has a pretty thick cockney accent), adding his performance capture magic alongside the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch (Shere Khan the tiger), Christian Bale (Bagheera the panther), Cate Blanchett (Kaa the snake), Tom Hollander (Tabaqui the hyena) and Peter Mullan, Naomie Harris, Eddie Marsan and Jack Reynor (all wolves).
As expected from Serkis, the digital animal acting looks pretty impressive already, and it’s nice to see a version of Kipling’s book that doesn’t include any songs for a change.
“We avoid comparisons to the other movie, and it’s a relief not to have the pressure,” Serkis told Deadline, talking about the move to Netflix. “This is a darker telling… It’s really not meant for young kids, though I think it’s possible that 10 or above can watch it. It was always meant to be PG-13, and this allows us to go deeper, with darker themes, to be scary and frightening in moments. The violence between animals is not gratuitous, but it’s definitely there. This way of going allows us to get the film out without compromise.”
Announcing a new title alongside the trailer, the film is now called Mowgli: Legend Of The Jungle, and we haven’t got too long to wait before it hits Netflix next month.