Renown worldwide for her beauty and fashion sense, of courseLupita Nyong’olatest roles have been mo-cap CGI creations. We just saw the Oscar-winning actress in this December’sStar Wars: The Force Awakens, playing the diminutive, Force-sensitive being Maz Kanata, a space pirate with a big secret. Next, she takes on a much different, yet equally nurturing role inDisney’sThe Jungle Book. And we have your first look courtesy ofEmpireMagazine.
Lupita Nyong’o is playingRakshathe wolf. She is one-half ofMowgli’s adoptive parents in this adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s legendary tale. The rest of the ensemble cast features the mo-cap and voice styling work ofScarlett Johansson,Idris Elba,Bill Murray,Ben Kingsley,Giancarlo EspositoandChristopher Walken.Neel Sethistars as Mowgli in this mostly CGI created adventure. He is the only live actor who will appear on screen.
While Rudyard Kipling’s19th centurywork of art is being used as the defining source material, there will be some twists and turns in this story of ayoung boy raised by wolves. The movie is directed byJon Favreau, who has made a name for himself as both an actor and a filmmaker, responsible for such family friendly hits asIron ManandZathura. About finding the perfect Mowgli, withNeel Sethibeing singled out of 2,000 actors, the director had this to say.
“There was a certain quality we wanted, and we knew he was going to have to carry the film. So it was going to have to be somebody that had a certain charisma, a certain charm and certain qualities that I remember from the cartoon.”
This latest image will be featured inEmpireMagazine’s February issue. It will have an in-depth look at the movie, including Mowgli’s other adoptive parent, Akela, played byGiancarlo Esposito. This latest issue of the magazine is on newsstands tomorrow, December 31. So, ring in the new year with Mowgli and pals!
