Warner Bros. had originally planned to premiere its live-action adaptation of The Jungle Book, the Andy Serkis–directed Mowgli, in theaters this October. However, according to reports on TheHollywoodReporter.com, Netflix has acquired distribution rights to the film, and will start streaming it next year.
By moving to Netflix, Mowgli will at least be able to avoid box office comparisons to Favreau’s Jungle Book, which won the Oscar for visual effects.
Serkis told THR earlier this year that the film would be a darker retelling of the tale than the Disney version. “This story is about identity. It’s about being other: Mowgli growing up as an other in the world of animals and trying to fit in and then in the world of man, and it takes place in both realms,” he said, adding, “And then the approach was rather than looking at it as a piece of spectacle, it’s a very emotional and dramatic piece about the connection between the animals and Mowgli, and humans and Mowgli.”
