The Jungle Book is already getting a sequel

By Dennis DiClaudio | April 11, 2016 | 9:15pm

Aux Features Film

Disney’s newest incarnation of The Jungle Book hasn’t even officially reached theaters, but the studio is already working on its follow-up, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Executives are reportedly in negotiations with director Jon Favreau (Iron Man) and screenwriter Justin Marks (Top Gun 2) to return for the sequel, which makes sense since early reviews for the CGI-heavy live action adventure film have been near-universally positive, earning it a 100 percent rating—for the time being—on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s expected to dominate the box office this weekend after its premiere this Friday, and has already grossed nearly $30 million in a number of Asian and Latin American markets.

This adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s classic stories—also the basis for Disney’s 1967 animated musical—stars 12-year-old newcomer Neel Sethi as Mowgli, the human boy who is raised as an animal of the jungle. His computer-rendered animal co-stars are voiced by a cast that includes Idris Elba as the tiger Shere Khan, Scarlett Johansson as the serpent Kaa, Bill Murray as the bear Baloo, and Lupita Nyong’o as the wolf Raksha. Which of them might return for subsequent films is currently unknown.