Andy Serkis’ ‘Mowgli’ Is Now Opening This Month — Here’s the Trailer
The holiday movie season just got another big title, as Netflix announced that Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle — Andy Serkis’ long-in-the-works adaptation of The Jungle Book — will now hit theaters weeks from now. Following “exclusive limited theatrical engagements” in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and London on November 29, the film will become available on Netflix (and in additional theaters) on December 7.
Mowgli was originally produced by Warner Bros., who had planned an October release. Then in July, Warners sold the film to Netflix, who had previously said they would debut the movie on their streaming service on 2019. Instead, you can see it next month (or in days, if you live in one of those cities above). The new trailer is above; here’s the film’s official synopsis:
Acclaimed actor and director Andy Serkis reinvents Rudyard Kipling’s beloved masterpiece, in which a boy torn between two worlds accepts his destiny and becomes a legend. Mowgli (Rohan Chand) has never truly belonged in either the wilds of the jungle or the civilized world of man. Now he must navigate the inherent dangers of each on a journey to discover where he truly belongs.
The rest of the cast includes Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Andy Serkis, Freida Pinto, Matthew Rhys and Naomie Harris.
This release strategy is similar to Netflix’s approach to another big acquisition they made earlier this year, when they revealed they had purchased Paramount’s The Cloverfield Paradox and premiered it on their streaming service that same day, immediately after the Super Bowl. For Mowgli, they’ve given you a bit more time to prepare, but not much. It seems like Netflix is beginning to embrace these surprise releases for their big films.
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