Actor Andy Serkis has signed on to direct Warner Bros.’ live action adaptation of The Jungle Book. Ron Howard was reportedly considering the role last month, but the meetings didn’t go far.
The Hollywood Reporter has more: ” Jungle Book would be Serkis’ feature directorial debut after directing second unit on Peter Jackson‘s The Hobbit movies, the third of which Warners is due to open in December. Some of the shoots involved the creation of elaborate and lively action sequences. For example, Serkis helmed the widely praised barrel-chase sequence in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.”
In 1967, Disney adapted the book into an animated film directed by Wolfgang Reitherman.