Disney has unveiled the first images for their live-action reboot of The Jungle Book. Taking to the movie’s official Facebook page to reveal the artwork, the studio included a glimpse at a newly-designed logo for the flick along with an image of young Mowgli. You can see them both in the gallery above, and read on for the first official logline for the film:
Mowgli—a man-cub raised in the jungle by a family of wolves—embarks on a captivating journey of self-discovery when he’s forced to abandon the only home he’s ever known. See an all-new live-action retelling of The Jungle Book, coming to theaters on October 9, 2015.
Directed by Jon Favreau, the movie is touted to be a hybrid of live-action and CGI. Understandably so, as there’s no chance in hell the animals which frequent this timeless classic would perform on cue. Or speak, for that matter. So, to bring those beasties to life, a corking cast has been assembled that includes the reunion of Lost In Translation‘s Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson.
Murray is slated to voice Baloo, while Johansson will lend her husky stylings to Kaa. Elsewhere on the roster, Ben Kingsley will play Bagheera, Breaking Bad‘s Giancarlo Esposito will be snarling away as Akeela, Christopher Walken’s inimitable tones will voice king of the monkeys, Louie, Idris Elba will be voicing Shere Khan, and Neel Sethi’s taking the live-action role of Mowgli.
The decision by Disney to begin their marketing for the movie may be a result of a recent announcement by their competitor Warner Bros. Also developing a movie based on the seminal novel by Rudyard Kipling, WB’s version will be a prequel-style take called Jungle Book: Origins. Directed by Andy Serkis, that iteration suffered a setback when the release date got pushed all the way from October 21, 2016, to October 6, 2017. The distance between both projects now separates them by two years, as Disney’s The Jungle Book opens on October 9th, 2015.
