Cast Set For WB's “Jungle Book: Origins"

THR reports that Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Naomie Harris, Tom Hollander, Eddie Marsan and Peter Mullan have joined the live-action adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's classic India-set 1894 short story collection  "The Jungle Book" at Warner Bros-called “Jungle Book: Origins”.

The pic will be a live action version of the story about an orphaned boy Mowgli Rohan Chand (who co-starred in Bad Words) raised by wolves and other animals, which try to protect him from the ferocious tiger Shere-Khan (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch). The tone will be a bit darker than previous film adaptations of the work

Bale will voice the panther Bagheera.Blanchett will lend her voice to the seductive python Kaa, who befriends Mowgli, while Hollander will be taking on the role of Tabaqui, a jackal and crony of Shere Khan. Mullan is playing Akela, the leader of the wolf pack that raises Mowgli, and Harris is female wolf Nisha. Marsan will play Nisha’s mate, Vihaan.

The most well known of which are the 1967 animated classic and the Stephen Sommers directed 1994 live-action live-action version starring Jason Scott Lee, Lena Headey and Cary Elwes.

Andy Serkis will direct and produce the film with Steve Kloves and Jonathan Cavendish. Callie Kloves wrote the adapted script. Serkis has also been confirmed to be taking on the role of Baloo the bear

Since the property is in the public domain Disney is developing it's own film that "Iron Man" director Jon Favreau is in talks to helm using a Justin Marks script--set to open on Oct. 9, 2015. "Origins” will open on  Oct. 21, 2016 — a year and a week after Disney’s rival project opens.