Jon Favreau Discusses The Reason He Directed The Jungle Book In New Video

Disney is lifting the veil on some of the secrets behind its upcoming live-action adaptation of the classic animated film The Jungle Book. In a new featurette centering on the creation of the movie, director Jon Favreau and cast members like Bill Murray and Idris Elba talk about everything from the reason for revisiting the property to the impact of the original book.

Some of the most interesting tidbits come from Favreau, who mentions how the 1967 Disney classic is a film he grew up loving, ultimately leading to his attachment to the project. Still, he admits that he wouldn’t have agreed to be part of a modern version unless there was “a reason for it,” which he believes to largely be the incredible-looking visuals of the movie’s animal life. Check out the film’s new set of posters to see for yourself.

When you take on a piece of content and you updated it, you have to be sure there’s a reason for it. What makes us able to make this movie now is the technology to have photo-real animal animation.

Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray also take a moment to discuss the movie’s themes, mainly centering around the idea of Mowgli’s discovering a family amidst the most dire of circumstances. Those dire circumstances come in the form of Idris Elba’s Shere Khan, the jungle’s resident overlord who doesn’t take kindly to the little human interloper frolicking about in his territory.

Any live-action re-do of a Disney classic (which is the studio’s new trend, like last year’s delightful Cinderella reboot) is hard to meet with anything but skepticism, but Favreau makes a few reassuring points in the new featurette.  The director mentions that he focused on the sensibilities of “fear, danger, humor and also emotion,” while filming. Although that could just be a general blanket statement for the reboot, Elba’s villain looks truly menacing and the ultra-realistic visuals could result in some pretty intense scenes if done right.

Tell us, do you think the live-action version of The Jungle Book is a good idea? Let us know in the comments.