Ben Kingsley and Jon Favreau might have been on opposite sides of the law in Iron Man 3, but it appears they’re creatively in sync, because Kingsley has agreed to voice Bagheera in the director’s new take on Disney’sThe Jungle Book.
Favreau is busy preparing to make the latest live-action version of a story that Disney first adapted for animation back in 1967. It follows Rudyard Kipling’s tale of Mowgli, the young human abandoned in the jungle and raised by wolves. Bagheera is the loyal, powerful black panther who helps watch over the boy.
Scarlett Johansson is already aboard to play charming, deadly snake Kaa, while Idris Elba is set to voice lethal tiger Shere Khan. Lupita Nyong’o is in talks to be Rackcha, the wolf mother who finds and adopts Mowgli.
The new film will employ complex special effects to bring the animals to life, with the actors giving them voice. They’ll all be working from Justin Marks’ script and the film should be shooting later this year. Favreau’s latest, cooking comedy drama Chef, is out on UK screens this week, and he sat down recently with our Pod-team to talk about that and drop a few hints on his vision for The Jungle Book…
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