'The Wire's' Idris Elba to Star As Shere Khan in 'The Jungle Book' Reboot [VIDEO]
Idris Elba (The Wire) is set to star as Shere Khan in a remake of The Jungle Book, according to a Deadline report.
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The actor wil be voicing the villainous beast in the film. It seems befitting as Elba is probably best-known for playing Russell "Stringer" Bell, a drug lord in The Wire. The actor can definitely channel that wicked snarl of the lion who is out for Mowgli's blood.
The animated film, which is an adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's famous novel of the same name, is being directed by Jon Favreau, who acted in Swingers and Rudy, and executive produced The Avengers and Iron Man 3. The visual effects team will be led by Rob Legato (Avatar, The Wolf of Wall Street). The production designers on the team include Alex McDowell (Man of Steel, Rise of the Guardians) and Michael Kutsche (Alice, Oz, Maleficent), Iain McCaig (Star Wars), and Justin Sweet (Chronicles of Narnia).
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More recently though, Elba got his big break in Hollywood, playing Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. He also starred in Thor: The Dark World.
Elba's next film is Beasts of No Nation, which is being directed by Cary Fukunaga.
The first time the book was adapted to film was in 1967 with Disney. George Sanders lent his voice for Shere Khan's part in the original.
Watch the trailer for the 1967 film:
