Jon Favreau Casts Mowgli in Disney's THE JUNGLE BOOK
After a long casting search for Mowgli, Disney and director Jon Favreau have cast a 10-year-old newcomer from New York named Neel Sethi. He will play the young boy who is raised by jungle animals in the story. Favreau had this to say about the casting in a statement:
“Casting is the most important element of any film and finding the right kid to play Mowgli was imperative. Neel has tremendous talent and charisma. There is a lot riding on his little shoulders and I’m confident he can handle it.”
Sethi will be the only live actor to appear onscreen in the film. It's being developed with a combination of live-action and CG animation. The the voice cast includes Idris Elba as the tiger Shere Khan and Ben Kingsley as the black panther Bagheera, with Scarlett Johansson in talks to play the python Kaa, and Lupita Nyong’o currently in talks to play Rakcha, a mother wolf who adopts Mowgli.
Disney has slated it for release in 3D on October 9, 2015.