After the success of Disney’s new edition of the “Jungle Book”, a second part was quickly decided. But almost five years later there is still (almost) no trace of a sequel to “The Jungle Book”. Is the sequel still coming?
With “The Jungle Book”, “The Mandalorian” maker Jon Favreau brought us a live adaptation of Disney’s classic cartoon “The Jungle Book” in 2016 – and hit the mark. The new edition was not only well received by many critics, but also became a considerable cinema hit with worldwide grossing almost one billion US dollars. Unsurprisingly, plans for a sequel were quickly made.
Today, February 6, 2021 at 8:15 pm, Sat.1 will show “The Jungle Book” again on television (a rerun will also run on February 7 at 3:40 pm, and of course the film will also be available on Disney + without advertising). This inevitably raises the question of what actually became of Part 2 …
» “The Jungle Book” bei Disney+*
Nothing new since 2018
It has become surprisingly quiet around “The Jungle Book 2” – and not just recently, but a few years ago. When “The Jungle Book” director Jon Favreau was entrusted with the staging of the “The Lion King” remake after the success of the film, he wanted to devote all his energy to Simba and Co. first and then to the “Jungle Book “-Sequel.
In the meantime, the sought-after Favreau has his hands full as a showrunner in the lavish “Star Wars” series “The Mandalorian” (a third season is currently being prepared), so there shouldn’t be much room for a big blockbuster at the moment. The extent of the productions should make it very difficult to supervise both at the same time – and it is doubtful whether Favreau will cut back on his celebrated baby “The Mandalorian” anytime soon. An alternative would of course be for someone else to direct “The Jungle Book 2”. However, there are no corresponding reports so far.
In fact, the last tangible information about the sequel comes from 2018 (!). At that time it was announced on the one hand that Neel Sethi would slip back into the role of the human boy Mowgli raised by wolves for part 2, and on the other hand, Justin Marks, who was again entrusted with the script, offered the prospect of the direction in which the film could go …
It could go on like this in “The Jungle Book 2”
At the end of “The Jungle Book”, a second part is actually prepared earlier than in the animated film. In contrast to this, Mowgli does not leave the jungle in the direction of the human village, but stays with his animal friends Balu and Baghira to experience further adventures with them. It is still unclear what exactly these might look like.
According to screenwriter Marks, however, the animated home theater sequel to “The Jungle Book” from 2003 should not serve as a template for the new real film. Instead, he would have combined various other sources in a first pre-existing script draft. On the one hand there is the original book by Rudyard Kipling, from which more elements have already been incorporated into the first part and which offers much more material for further stories.
» Rudyard Kipling’s “Jungle Book” stories on Amazon*
On the other hand, Marks apparently used an earlier script version of the cartoon original, which stuck closer to the original book, but was rejected by Walt Disney at the time because it was too gloomy. Already in “The Jungle Book” one relied on the nastier depiction of Louie the monkey king from the same script.
It would therefore also be quite conceivable that in “The Jungle Book 2” one would build on exactly that and maybe make the greedy hunter Buldeo the new villain (which also appeared in Disney’s “Jungle Book” real film from 1994). He is targeting the treasures under the giant monkey’s fortress and not only forces Mowgli to help him get hold of the gold and precious stones, but also plans to burn down the rainforest.
It remains to be seen whether this will really happen in the end. “The Jungle Book 2” is not yet off the table, but a start of production is currently not in sight. If that doesn’t change soon, the main role could possibly also be changed, depending on whether Disney wants to tie in with the first part or would tell the story with a more adult Mowgli. Actor Neel Sethi is already 17 years old – and you can see that in him:
But even if “The Jungle Book 2” should suddenly pick up speed again in the near future, a start would probably not be expected until 2023 at the earliest.
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