Bill Murray's voice added to The Jungle Book

We are set to receive the new version of Disney's The Jungle Book on October 9, 2015 and casting is just starting to pick up a little bit. In the month of July alone we had Ben Kingsley, Giancarlo Esposito, Christopher Walken, Neel Sethi join the already confirmed cast of Idris Elba, Scarlett Johansson, and Lupito Nyong'o. The latest actor to join the cast is the rather legendary Bill Murray.

Murray will lend his voice Mowgli's bear friend, Baloo. So far the only live-action actor we will see is Neel Sethi who has been cast as Mowgli. Elba is set to voice Shere Khan, Nyong'o will bring Raksha to life, and Johansson will voice Kaa.
This is Disney's response to the Warner Bros. adaptation of The Jungle Book which is set for October 21, 2016. That adaptation, Jungle Book: Origins, will be directed by Andy Serkis. There is no information on whether one or both films will use straight CGI or motion capture technology, but they are sure to differ in some ways.

If you live under a rock and don't know who Bill Murray is, he is most recognized from his work in the Ghostbusters franchise as well as being cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1977-1980. He also starred in Groundhog Day, Caddyshack, Stripes, Scrooged, Space Jam, and was the new Bosley in the 2000 reboot of Charlie's Angels. More recently he's been seen in Moonrise Kingdom, Zombieland, Lost in Translation, and The Grand Budapest Hotel. The guy is a comic genius and his voice is amazing, so I am more than happy with this casting.

Andy Serkis will direct The Jungle Book reboot

Warner Bros. has hired Andy Serkis to direct the upcoming live-action version of The Jungle Book. Serkis is already on board to produce the film alongside Steve Kloves and Jonathan Cavendish. This is Warner Bros. attempt to compete with the Disney produced Jungle Book adaptation to be directed by Jon Favreau.

You might recognize Serkis' voice more than him in person. He provided motion capture and voice work to Peter Jackson as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong as well as lending his body once again to motion capture as Caesar for Rise of the Planet of the Apes. He is also reprising the role of Caesar in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
Despite being a second unit director for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, this will be Serkis' directorial debut.

Disney announces more upcoming release dates

We have some more release dates for upcoming Disney films. Keep in mind they are all subject to change for whatever reason.

Alice in Wonderland 2 will hit on May 27, 2016. Johnny Depp is set to return along with Tim Burton and Mia Wasikowska. It is currently the only 2016 Disney release that isn't Marvel.

The Jungle Book will hit on October 9, 2015. The new adaptation is to be directed by Jon Favreau and it yet another addition to the very crowded 2015 release year.


In other words, we got release dates for movies that shouldn't be happening in the first place. Nothing too exciting here. 

Jon Favreau to direct The Jungle Book

Jon Favreau, familiar with the Marvel world, is in talks to return to Disney and direct The Jungle Book. The classic tale has been adapted twice by Disney already; once in animated form in 1967 and live-action in 1994. Production is rumored to begin early in 2014.

Favreau previously directed Iron Man and Iron Man 2 and was previously attached to Magic Kingdom. I think he has the right amount of playfulness for a project like this.