<P>--Jon Favreau on approaching the film's technical intent . </P> <P> Walt Disney Pictures announced that a live - action remake of The Jungle Book was in development on July 9, 2013, with Justin Marks set to write the script . The film would be Disney's second live - action adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's works, following the 1994 film, and the studio's third overall after the 1967 animated musical . Jon Favreau was later confirmed as director on November 5, 2013 . Favreau as a child used to watch Disney's 1967 animated musical version . He felt the need to strike a balance between the two films by retaining the buoyant spirit of the 1967 film, including some of its memorable songs, while crafting a movie with more realism and peril . He also stressed the importance of nature and realized how things have shifted during Kipling's time and now, "In Kipling's time, nature was something to be overcome . Now nature is something to be protected ." He was encouraged by Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn to take advantage of the film's setting and story as an opportunity to use the latest advancements in photorealistic rendering, computer - generated imagery, and motion capture technologies . The story of the film is not independently taken from Kipling's works, but also borrows cinematic inspirations from other films, including the child - mentor relationship in Shane (1953), the establishment of rules in a dangerous world from Goodfellas (1990) and the use of a shadowy jungle figure in Apocalypse Now (1979). </P> <P> The cast was announced between March and August 2014, with Idris Elba being announced to voice Shere Khan during early stages and Bill Murray eventually confirmed as the voice of Baloo in August 2014 . Between then, Scarlett Johansson, Ben Kingsley, and Christopher Walken were confirmed to play Kaa, Bagheera, and King Louie . Favreau decided to cast Johansson to play Kaa, originally a male character, as he felt the original film was "a little too male - oriented ." Favreau and Marks noticed the lack of female characters in the 1967 film version and wanted to address that by featuring Raksha's character more prominently, as in Kipling's tales . Lupita Nyong'o was cast as Raksha as Favreau believed her voice imbued the emotion required for the role, "Lupita has tremendous depth of emotion in her performance . There's an emotional underpinning she brings, and a strength, and we wanted that for this surrogate mother . Much of that comes from her voice ." Favreau also decided to change King Louie from an orangutan to a Gigantopithecus due to the fact that orangutans are not native to India, where the story takes place . His character was given a slight alteration from the 1967 film and was partly inspired by Marlon Brando's character Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, as well as incorporating Walken's own physical mannerisms . In regards to Louie's changes, Favreau stated, "We created this looming figure that was trying to extract the secret of fire from Mowgli . And also this gave Mowgli the idea that if he had fire, he could have power over Shere Khan, whether it was good or bad . So there was a Lord of the Rings aspect to that; the fire was almost like the ring in that was going to give someone ultimate power, but corrupt them as well as create destruction ." The film is dedicated to Garry Shandling, who voiced a porcupine in the film and died of a heart attack before the film's release . </P> <P> The search for casting Mowgli was extensive, with thousands of children auditioning from the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Canada . Eventually, newcomer Neel Sethi was confirmed for the role, with casting director Rebecca Williams describing him as embodying "the heart, humor, and daring of the character . He's warm and accessible, yet also has an intelligence well beyond his years and impressed us all with his ability to hold his own in any situation ." Sethi underwent parkour training in preparation for the role . Pixar Animation Studios assisted in the development of the story, as well as providing suggestions for the film's end credits sequence . </P>

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