Warner Bros Pictures has unveiled the first official trailer for Mowgli, an interpretation of Rudyard Kipling’s work they describe as “the darkest telling of the beloved masterpiece.” The two and a half minute visually stunning trailer shows Mowgli running wild and free with his animal friends, and locked up in a cage by humans.
The studio also released a two-minute behind the scenes video featuring actor/director Andy Serkis describing what audiences can expect. “It’s not so much a child’s fairy tale. This has reality to it,” explains Serkis. “There is real consequence. This is definitely drawn from Kipling and has a much darker approach to the storytelling. There’s no singing or dancing by the animals, that’s for sure.”
The cast of the dramatic film includes Christian Bale as Bagheera, Benedict Cumberbatch as Shere Khan, Cate Blanchett as Kaa, Peter Mullan as Akela, Andy Serkis as Baloo, Matthew Rhys as John Lockwood and Naomie Harris as Nisha. The cast of the PG-13 action adventure film also includes Freida Pinto, Jack Reynor as Brother Wolf, Eddie Marsan as Vihaan, and Tom Hollander as Tabaqui. Rohan Chand stars in the title role.
Callie Kloves wrote the screenplay and Steve Kloves, Jonathan Cavendish, and David Barron served as producers. Mowgli was executive produced by Nikki Penny.
Warner Bros Pictures has set an October 19, 2018 theatrical release date.
The Plot: Blending live action and performance capture, the story follows the upbringing of the human child Mowgli (Rohan Chand) raised by a wolf pack in the jungles of India. As he learns the often-harsh rules of the jungle, under the tutelage of a bear named Baloo (Andy Serkis) and a panther named Bagheera (Christian Bale), Mowgli becomes accepted by the animals of the jungle as one of their own. All but one: the fearsome tiger Shere Khan. (Benedict Cumberbatch). But there may be greater dangers lurking in the jungle, as Mowgli comes face to face with his human origins.
The other story’s central animal characters are: Kaa, the snake (Cate Blanchett); the leader of the wolf pack, Akela (Peter Mullan); the scavenging hyena, Tabaqui (Tom Hollander); Nisha, the female wolf (Naomie Harris), who adopts the baby Mowgli as one of her cubs; Nisha’s mate, Vihaan (Eddie Marsan); and Mowgli’s Brother Wolf (Jack Reynor).
(Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures)
