Jon Favreau’s ‘Jungle Book’ has found its Mowgli.
The 47-year-old actor-director has chosen 10-year-old Neel Sethi to take on the role of Mowgli in his upcoming live-action and animation reboot of the Disney classic.
In a statement, Favreau said: "Casting is the most important element of any film and finding the right kid to play Mowgli is imperative.
"Neel has tremendous talent and charisma. There is a lot riding on his little shoulders and I’m confident he can handle it."
The ‘Chef’ star held auditions for thousands of hopefuls from New York to New Zealand, London to Canada and India.
‘Jungle Book’ will mark Sethi’s first big-screen appearance and he will be seen taking on the role of the orphan boy who is raised in the jungle with the help of a pack of wolves, a bear named Baloo and a black panther named Bagheera.
He joins an already star-studded cast as Idris Elba will voice the lion Shere Khan while Ben Kingsley is set to provide vocals for Bagheera.
Scarlett Johansson and Lupita Nyong’o are also in talks to voice the characters Kaa and mother wolf Rakcha respectively.
Casting director Sarah Finn added: "Neel embodies the heart, humour and daring of the character … Even though he has no professional acting experience, his natural charisma and instincts jumped out at us."
‘Jungle Book’ is slated for release on October 9 2015.
Jon Favreau finds Mowgli for Jungle Book
