Andy Serkis says his Jungle Book will be just as dark as the book

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Warner Bros. and Disney both have big screen versions of Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book" in the works, with Jon Favreau helming Disney's, and Andy Serkis will be behind the camera for Warner Bros. THR recently spoke with Andy Serkis about his upcoming first film as a director (although he was the second unit director for Peter Jackson's THE HOBBIT movies), and he says he loved Kipling's novel as a kid.

"I found it mesmerizing, and it transported me into this incredible world. It's extraordinary that I'm getting a chance to bring it to the screen."

Serkis goes on to say the screenplay for THE JUNGLE BOOK from Steve and Callie Kloven is a very faithful adaptation.

"What I love about the screen adaptation by Steve and Callie Kloves is it's very truthful to the original book; it doesn’t shy away from its darkness. The jungle is a Garden of Eden and a wonderful place for Mowgli to grow up in, but also is a place of fear and a place of threat."

I kind of assumed Andy Serkis' THE JUNGLE BOOK will be darker than the one Disney is developing, and Serkis' comments pretty much confirmed my thoughts. Disney's version has the slight edge at this point in my opinion, but that's only because Idris Elba will be voicing Shere Khan in their film, which is all kinds of awesome.

Warner Brothers' THE JUNGLE BOOK currently doesn't have a release date, but will likely open sometime in 2015.