‘Jungle Book: Origins': Andy Serkis’ Directorial Debut Gets a Release Date

While Disney has set their live action version of 'The Jungle Book' to hit theaters in 2015, Warner Bros. has just announced an official title and release date for their own 'Jungle Book' project: Officially titled 'Jungle Book: Origins,' the new live action movie from motion capture master Andy Serkis will hit theaters just a little over a year later.

Warner Bros. made the official announcement today, setting an October 21, 2016 release date for 'Jungle Book: Origins.' The film will hit theaters just one year and one week after Disney's live action 'The Jungle Book,' which is being directed by Jon Favreau, with Idris Elba voicing the tiger, Shere Khan.

The WB version will be directed by Andy Serkis, who has garnered much acclaim for his motion capture work with characters like Gollum in 'The Lord of the Rings' films and, more recently, reprising the role of Caesar for 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.' This marks the directorial debut of Serkis, who also acted as second unit director on the first two 'Hobbit' movies with Peter Jackson.

Casting has not yet begun for 'Jungle Book: Origins,' and this is the first official confirmation of the film's title, which drops the "The" and adds "Origins" -- seemingly implying a prequel or untold story element for the tale about an orphan boy named Mowgli who is raised by animals in the jungle.