After beginning his filmmaking career in the indie pool with Made, Jon Favreau has mostly been playing in the blockbuster sandbox. After a couple of high-priced family films, followed by the first two Iron Man movies and the disastrous Cowboys & Aliens, Favreau has since gone back to his art house roots for Chef, which he's filming right now. And it looks like after that's finished he'll jump back in the studio tentpole realm for Disney's remake of The Jungle Book.
Favreau is in talks to direct the adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's novel, which Disney turned into their classic 1967 animated film. Announced last summer, the live-action film will feature a script by Justin Marks who will attempt to bring something new to the story of feral child Mowgli and his talking animal pals. So what are "The Bare Necessities" for this version? Favreau told Deadline....
Favreau: “I can’t say that much, but there is an interesting take that could be very cool, and the hope is to relaunch a family brand with certain mythic elements. It is my first real family film since 'Elf,' and there are action elements and visual effects that I feel like my experience on the 'Iron Man' films are going to be useful.”
Filming is set to begin next year, and this news probably puts the kibosh on the adaptation Warner Bros. had been planning.
