Though he renewed his indie movie license this year by shooting low-budget comedy drama Chef, Jon Favreau still has several big films jockeying for attention on his To Do list. He adds one more to the docket today, as he’s in talks to direct Disney’s planned new live-action adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s **The Jungle Book.
The Mouse House announced development on the latest incarnation (following the studio’s 1967 cartoon and 1994 live-action efforts) in July, with Justin Marks hired to work on a script. He’s scheduled to submit his draft shortly, with hopes that this latest take can be in front of cameras next year.
Having Favreau in the director’s chair will certainly help matters along. “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,” Favreau tells Deadline. “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.”
He’s also got another big Disney project, Magic Kingdom, a Night At The Museum-style take on the famous theme park, in the works. Chef will be on our screens on May 9 next year and Favreau himself is part of the cast for Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf Of Wall Street, which arrives on January 17.