By Faris Foat
Recently, a trailer for a certain wild orphan named Mowgli was released by Warner Bros. We’ve seen Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book in 2016 – now get ready to see another version, directed by Andy Serkis, titled Mowgli.
Is another rendition of The Jungle Book truly necessary? As we know, Favreau’s The Jungle Book (2016) serves as a family-friendly movie because it’s a Disney movie, but Mowgli (2018) on the other hand, is different.
Mowgli trailer:
Gritty dark vibes are present in the trailer as Serkis’ version is a direct adaptation from Rudyard Kupling’s classic novel of the same name. If you’re hoping to hear the ‘The Bare Necessities’ song, you’re going to be very disappointed because Andy Serkis confirms it in a video with IGN, there will be no songs in Mowgli.
While The Jungle Book (2016) is about Mowgli and other animals around him, Mowgli (2018) will be Mowgli-centric and about him finding his own identity. So, Mowgli (2018) will be different from The Jungle Book (2016) in the aspect of tone and also story arc.
Many of us are familiar with Disney’s version of The Jungle Book, but only a few that know about the original story, so Andy Serkis just did a favour for us. Taking us to a different route gives us a chance to explore a serious and darker version of the world of Mowgli and his talking animals friends. The question of whether it was necessary, really, will only be answered if it ends up being good. Being huge Serkis marks, we definitely hope so.
Mowgli will hit cinemas this October. Starring Cate Blanchett as Kaa, Benedict Cumberbatch as Shere Khan, Andy Serkis as Baloo, Christian Bale as Baghiraa, Peter Mulan as Akela and Rohan Chand as Mowgli.
