In a left field and somewhat surprising choice, Warner Bros have tapped actor Andy Serkis to direct their big screen, live action version of The Jungle Book.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Serkis will make his feature directorial debut on the project, having previously helmed second unit for Peter Jackson on The Hobbit movies. He was apparently responsible for the lauded barrel-chase sequence in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
Disney too are in pre-production with a Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Elf) helmed big budget version of the animated classic - Idris Elba is already locked to voice a man eating tiger.
Serkis obtained a strong grasp of how CGI works from playing Gollum and King Kong, both times for Jackson, as well as his work as Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
