Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu to Direct Warner Bros. THE JUNGLE BOOK?

Variety reports that Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is in negotiations to helm Warner Bros. upcoming film adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's THE JUNGLE BOOK, with script from Steve Kloves (Harry Potter).

Read the original story here.

The film will be a live action adaptation of 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.

Warner Bros. THE JUNGLE BOOK is not the only film adaptation currently in the works. Disney's Jon Favreau-helmed, live-action movie version is set for release on October 9, 2015.

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

Inarritu just finished production on Birdman. His past directorial credits include Biutiful, Babel, 21 Grams and more.