New The Jungle Book Guest Star Announced

Source: The Telegraph

The Mandarin himself goes head-to-head with Mowgli. It's truly a jungle out there now...
Walt Disney Pictures have this week announced a new central cast member set to feature in their upcoming fantasy film The Jungle Book. Taking place in a narrative continuity which is completely isolated from Disney's original animated adaptations of Rudyard Kipling's iconic children's short stories, this potentially controversial reboot will be directed by Iron Man's Jon Favreau and its screenplay written by Justin Marks.

Already, we've discovered that hot thespians such as Idris Elba (Shere Khan), Scarlet Johansson (Kaa) and Lupita Nyong'o (Raksha) are attached to Favreau's latest production (and if you're looking for further examples of the guy's work, go and check out Chef at cinemas this month!), but with the appointment of Ben Kingsley, things have just become deadly serious. Writing out Kingsley's filmography in full would probably take more time than copying out the Kipling source material in full, yet suffice to say that he has appeared in countless beloved motion pictures including (but by no means limited to) Shutter Island, Hugo, Thunderbirds, Twelfth Night and more recently Iron Man 3 (who can possibly forget Trevor Slattery?), making him a superb addition to the already promising ensemble in the role of Bagheera. Stay tuned to On-Screen for more news on this increasingly potent reboot as and when it breaks!

The Jungle Book tells its story in cinemas worldwide on October 9th, 2015. Disney's version isn't to be confused, however, with Warner Brothers Pictures' ongoing live-action project, another adaptation of the same Kipling texts which is to be written by Steve Kloves and directed by Andy Serkis. In the words of the not-so-immortal Harry Hill, we like Favreau, but we like Serkis too. Who will come out on top? There's only one way to find out...FIGHT! (Or, you know, carry on with your lives. That works fine too.)