Director Andy Serkis has cast Benedict Cumberbatch in Warner Bros. big screen adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. This is the first casting announcement for this film, and the actor will provide the voice for Shere Khan. He is well suited for the voice of the Khan and it is the best announcement yet for the movie.
Jungle Book is based on the short stories written by Kipling that center on Mowgli, “an orphaned boy raised by wolves who befriends Baloo the bear and Bagheera the black panther. The tiger Shere Khan is a lifelong enemy of Mowgli’s, with each vowing to slay the other.”
The script for the film was written by Callie Kloves. Her father is Steve Kloves, who worked on the Harry Potter movies, and he is producing Jungle Book.
The Warners Bros. adaptation of this story is competing against Disney’s adaptation, which has been fully cast with Jon Favreau directing. Idris Elba (Thor) is voicing Shere Kahn in that version.