The Jungle Book is one of the 2016 films that I am looking forward to the most as Jon Favreau returns to the big screen.
The Jungle Book
This is the first of two The Jungle Book movies on the horizon and is the latest live action adaptation of an animation film from Disney; following hot off the heels of the success of Maleficent and Cinderella.
Idris Elba, Christopher Walken, and Scarlett Johansson are just three of the great names on board as they are set to bring the characters of Shere Khan, King Louie, and Kaa to life... and they feature in these fantastic new posters from the film:
Favreau has brought us movies such as Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and Elf during his career, but The Jungle Book is his first directorial outing since Chef back in 2014 - it is great to see him return to the blockbuster genre.
As if a cast list with Elba, Walken, and Johnsson wasn't exciting enough, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, and Lupita Nyong'o are also on board as Baloo, Bagheera, and Raksha.
The movie is also set to introduce us to the acting talents of Neel Sethi, who will take on the central role of Mowgli in the movie.
The Jungle Book is an all-new live-action epic adventure about Mowgli (Sethi), a man-cub who's been raised by a family of wolves. But Mowgli finds he is no longer welcome in the jungle when fearsome tiger Shere Khan (Elba), who bears the scars of Man, promises to eliminate what he sees as a threat.
Urged to abandon the only home he's ever known, Mowgli embarks on a captivating journey of self-discovery, guided by panther-turned-stern mentor Bagheera (Kingsley), and the free-spirited bear Baloo (Murray). Along the way, Mowgli encounters jungle creatures who don't exactly have his best interests at heart, including Kaa (Johannsson), a python whose seductive voice and gaze hypnotizes the man-cub, and the smooth-talking King Louie (Walken), who tries to coerce Mowgli into giving up the secret to the elusive and deadly red flower: fire.
Maleficent and Cinderella have been both a critical and commercial success in recent years and The Jungle Book looks set to follow in their footsteps. The first trailer really did promise much and I cannot wait to see what Favreau delivers as he puts his own stamp on a tale that we know so well.
The Jungle Book is released in April.