After crafting a series of dark, character-based dramas, Alejandro González Iñárritu was lined up by Warner Bros. to switch things up, directing their live-action take on The Jungle Book. With the Mexican director’s attachment we were about as interested as one possible could be at the retread (i.e. vaguely), but with Jon Favreau coming aboard a dueling project over at Disney, the studio has decided to play it safe.
Picking perhaps one of the most pedestrian directors in Hollywood, THR reports that Ron Howard has been set to direct and produce this new take on the classic Rudyard Kipling story. With Iñárritu falling off due to scheduling conflicts, as he puts the finishing touches on his forthcoming Birdman for a release this year, the Rush director has now stepped in.
It’s not clear if he’ll be able to make the film in time to compete with Disney’s take — which will arrive in October 2015 — but it’s not likely. He’s currently working on In the Heart of the Sea, and is penciled in to direct the Dan Brown adaptation Inferno, which is set to arrive in late 2015. Regardless of when he makes it, we can’t say our expectations are too high, so hopefully Hollywood realizes just one of these remakes are enough, if that.
Do you think Howard is a downgrade? Do you want to see another Jungle Book at all, let alone two?