Before he earned goodwill with Marvel for kicking off their current multi-billion universe with Iron Man, Jon Favreau provided some fun, all-ages entertainment with Elf and Zathura. He’s now set to return to that demographic with a new project, a reboot of The Jungle Book. Based on Rudyard Kipling’s 1894 fable collection, Justin Marks has adapted the book, which follows the adventures of the orphan boy Mowgli and his animal friends.
According to Deadline, Disney is making this a priority project and Favreau chimes in, saying, “I can’t say that much, but there is an interesting take that could be very cool and the hope is to relaunch a family brand with certain mythic elements. It is my first real family film since Elf, and there are action elements and visual effects that I feel like my experience on the Iron Man films are going to be useful.”
After crafting the disappointing Iron Man sequel and the missed opportunity known as Cowboys & Aliens, Favreau is recharging his batteries with a small-scale project titled Chef. Now in post-production and set for a release this May, it brings together Scarlett Johansson, Sofía Vergara, Robert Downey Jr., Dustin Hoffman, John Leguizamo, Bobby Cannavale and Favreau himself, telling the story of a chef who starts a food truck. Hopefully it’ll be just what he needs to get back in the large-scale tentpole arena with this new Disney project.
Is Favreau a good fit for The Jungle Book?