Andy Serkis, the motion capture actor behind “The Lord of the Rings” the “Planet of the Apes” remake and the new “Star Wars” films, has been working on his life action “Jungle Book” film long before the 2016 Disney live-action remake, starring Bill Murray and Lupita Nyong’o, was released in 2016.
The film, titled “Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle” has been in production turmoil. After the Disney remake of “The Jungle Book” made $966 million worldwide, it was obvious that “Mowgli” wasn’t going to be able to match the box office haul. I don’t even think its star-studded cast, including Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett and Benedict Cumberbatch, can save it.
Earlier this year, it was announced that “Mowgli” would be premiering directly to streaming 2019, but for it to be eligible for Oscars, Netflix announced it would be giving the film a limited theatrical release while being available to stream on December 7.
I feel like this whole “Mowgli” situation is just bad timing. Serkis has been killing it behind the scenes for years without getting the credit he deserves. He finally got a directorial debut, only for it to be overshadowed by the Disney remake.
Andy Serkis, mostly known for his motion-capture work, is making his directorial debut with “Mowgli.” Photo courtesy of collider.com
“Mowgli” is promised to be darker, grittier and truer to the original source material, but I’m not confident it’s going to be a success. I’ll probably watch it at some point, but I’m not necessarily looking forward to it. Hopefully Serkis will be able to get a decent directorial follow-up and his behind the camera career can finally flourish.
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