Andy Serkis says his new adaptation of The Jungle Book will no shy away from the darkness that is in the original novel.
Serkis is set to swap in front of the camera for the director’s chair for the big screen adaptation of the Rudyard Kipling novel: which has been adapted for the big screen by Steve and Callies Gloves.
The Jungle Book is set to be the second directorial outing for Serkis, as he will be bringing his version of Animal Farm to screens later this year.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the director said:
"What I love about the screen adaptation by Steve and Callie Kloves is it's very truthful to the original book; it doesn't shy away from its darkness.
“The jungle is a Garden of Eden and a wonderful place for Mowgli to grow up in, but also is a place of fear and a place of threat."
This is the second of two Jungle Book projects that are set to be released; Idris Elba will be voicing the character of Shere Khan in the other.
However, Serkis will not be disappearing from our screens to pursue a directing career completely, as he has some exciting film projects on the horizon.
He will reprise the role of Caesar in The Dawn of the Planet of the Apes later this summer: his motion capture performance in Rise of the Planet of the Apes was the major highlight of a great film.
He is the only member of the original main cast to be returning for the sequel. It is also all change in the director’s chair as Matt Reeves.
He has also been linked to a return as Captain Haddock in the second Tintin film; Peter Jackson is set to direct this time around.
No release date for The Jungle Book has yet been revealed.
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