Andy Serkis, the beloved actor behind the most iconic CG characters in film history, has been signed to make his directorial debut for a major Hollywood studio. The actor will direct Warner Bros.’ version of The Jungle Book.
Although Serkis is best known for playing Gollum in the Lord of the Rings films and Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, he has shown increasing interest in directing. Back in 2012, he announced that he will be directing a version of George Orwell’s Animal Farm.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, which first reported Serkis’ hiring, it is not known if Serkis will play a character for The Jungle Book, but Warner Bros. is certainly going to count on his expertise to bring the animal kingdom to life.
Warner Bros. is in a race to get this movie off the ground before Disney makes its film. Rudyard Kipling’s Mowgli stories are in the public domain, so there’s no legal conflict. Disney’s version will be directed by Jon Favreau and Idris Elba will voice Shere Kahn.
Warner Bros. had hoped that Babel director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu would direct its film, but he left. Ron Howard was in talks, but those negotiations apparently didn’t get very far. Callie Kloves wrote the script and it is expected to stick closer to Kipling’s stories than the 1967 Disney animated classic.
The studio does not have a release date scheduled for the film and there are no actors attached yet.