Andy Serkis’s take on Rudyard Kipling’s stories, The Jungle Book: Origins is on the move. Warner Bros. has announced that the ambitious film will move from its planned October, 2016 release date into an October, 2017 slot{
You might have read in the current issue of Empire – out now and in digital formats too – about Serkis and his performance-capture facility The Imaginarium, where even now he's hard at work on the film, which will feature the voices and facial capture work of Benedict Cumberbatch, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Naomie Harris, Jack Reynor, Eddie Marsan, Peter Mullan and Tom Hollander with a blend of live-action and CG creations.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the original date was more of a placeholder for the film, and the new slot means Serkis and his team have more time to develop everything. It does, however, mean that it will be even longer between his film and Jon Favreau’s Jungle Book for Disney, which is scheduled to arrive in October next year.
Warners, meanwhile, has been quick to switch in a new title for Jungle Book’s old date: Gerard Butler thriller Geostorm will hit US cinemas on October 21, 2016 instead. There’s no word on whether that means it will show up here at the same time.