Ron Howard Swings to 'The Jungle Book'

Ron Howard's thrilling Formula One film, Rush, probably deserved more love than it received. While it performed reasonably well at the box office, for a racing movie anyway, it didn't attract the eye of Academy Awards voters. And maybe the lukewarm reception to Rush is what has driven him to his next move, taking on a potential franchise in Warner Bros.' live-action adaptation of The Jungle Book.

THR reports that Howard is in talks to direct and produce The Jungle Book, taking over for Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu who dropped out a month ago.  Steve Kloves' daughter Callie wrote the script, adapting Rudyard Kipling's classic children's book about Mowgli, an orphaned boy raised in the jungle by animals.

The move was crucial as Warner Bros. is racing to keep up with Disney's version which has Jon Favreau directing. The studio is probably going to want Howard to jump into this next after he wraps up In the Heart of the Sea. He also recently became attached to drug-world thriller Mena, and has been developing Stephen King's The Dark Tower for the big screen.