Scarlett Johansson and Lupita Nyong'o to Join Disney's Live-Action JUNGLE BOOK?

By: Apr. 23, 2014
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The Hollywood Reporter writes that Scarlett Johansson and Lupita Nyong'o are in talks to join the cast of Jon Favreau's upcoming live-action/VFX remake of Disney's THE JUNGLE BOOK.

Read the original story here.

Nyong'o would play 'Rakcha', Mowgli's mother wolf and Johansson would take on the voice of 'Kaa', villain Shere Khan's (Idris Elba) sidekick python.

The film, directed by Favreau, is based on the Kipling classic, which follows an orphaned boy who was raised by wolves and other animals. The animals act as protectors for the boy from the evil tiger Shere Khan.

The Jungle Book is a collection of stories written in 1894 by British Nobel laureate Kipling The stories were first published in magazines in 1893-94. The original publications contain illustrations, some by Rudyard's father, John Lockwood Kipling. In 1967 Walt Disney Productions released an animated version of the collection. The film was the 19th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series.

Disney's live-action movie version is set for release on October 9, 2015, while Warner Bros. is also developing their own adaptation.

The story of Mowgli's adventures in the jungles of India has also recently been adapted as a stage musical. THE JUNGLE BOOK ran last fall as a joint premiere by Chicago's Goodman Theatre and Boston's Huntington Theatre Company, produced by special arrangement with Disney Theatrical Productions.

Nyong'o won an Academy Award for her performance in 12 Years a Slave. She has also appeared in the films East River and Non-Stop, as well as the TV mini-series Shuga.

Johansson can currently be seen on the big screen in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, with Chef, Lucy, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Black Widow in the wings. She just voiced the part of 'Samantha' in the Oscar-nominated movie Her and has also recently appeared in Under the Skin, Don Jon, Hitchcock, The Avengers and more. Her Broadway credits include A View From the Bridge in 2010 and last year's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride



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