First Mowgli Trailer Offers A Dark Take On The Disney Classic

the opening trailer for Mowgli has landed, and this interpretation of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book understands exactly what it is. "Witness the darkest telling of the beloved masterpiece," the trailer reads.


Heavily tapping into the story's themes of abandonment and freedom, the trailer opens with Mowgli (Rohan Chand) trying to bite, scratch, and fight his way out of a cage in the middle of a village, while Bagheera, the panther, (voiced by Christian Bale) attempts to motivate the boy raised by the wolves to increase the trust of the human beings around him.


After living among the animals since birth, the jungle is deemed unsafe for Mowgli, and the boy is turned over to the villagers for his new life, yet even as he escapes from the increasing dangers of life in the wild to one with human connection, a sinister tone lingers.


"Our version isn't sentimental at all. It's full-blooded, it's visceral. It's a very visceral experience, actually," director Andy Serkis told MTV News correspondent Josh Horowitz at CinemaCon.


The A-list cast also includes Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Naomie Harris, Matthew Rhys, and Freida Pinto. Check out the trailer above, and more from Serkis and Rhys below. Mowgli hits theaters October 19.