Jon Favreau’s upcoming live action adaptation of The Jungle Book for Disney has gained another thespian, as THR reports that Sir Ben Kingsley has signed on to voice the black panther Bagheera.
Kingsley joins Idris Elba, who voices the villainous tiger Shere Khan, Scarlett Johansson, who voices the hypnotic python Kaa, and Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o, who voices Raksha, the wolf that takes in and raises the human orphan boy Mowgli.
We still have no word on whether or not Favreau will use motion capture for the film, but we do know that it will employ a mixture of live-action and CGI. Written by Justin Marks, The Jungle Book is based on Rudyard Kipling’s beloved 1894 classic, which is also getting an adaptation over at Warner Brothers under director Andy Serkis. Favreau’s film is expected to arrive first, and is slated for a 3D release on October 9, 2015.
