Idris Elba to Voice Killer Tiger in Jon Favreau’s ‘Jungle Book’ for Disney

Justin Marks wrote the live-action film, which is based on Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale

Move over, Richard Parker! Disney has found the perfect actor to voice the killer tiger Shere Khan in Jon Favreau‘s “The Jungle Book,” as Idris Elba is nearing a deal to star in the live-action movie, an individual familiar with the project has told TheWrap.

Disney’s “Jungle Book” movie, which was written by Justin Marks, will be a mix of live-action and VFX. The studio is in a race with Warner Bros. to bring Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale to the big screen. WB’s project suffered a setback when Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu bowed out.

Also read: Idris Elba, Morgan Freeman React to Nelson Mandela Death

“Jungle Book” follows Mowgli, a young orphan raised in the jungle by wild animals. Shere Khan is the tiger who stalks the boy and decides to kill him when he becomes a threat.

 

Elba, who recently played Nelson Mandela in “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,” is preparing to star in Cary Fukunaga‘s “Beasts of No Nation.” He’s repped by WME and Anonymous Content.

The news was first reported by Deadline.

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