Benedict Cumberbatch is to voice the role of Shere Khan in 'Jungle Book: Origins'.
The 'Sherlock' star is to play the part of the evil tiger in the eagerly-awaited Warner Bros. production.
The film is to be directed by Andy Serkis, who starred in the 'Lord of the Rings' franchise, after scheduling commitments meant that Alejandro González Iñárritu was unable to assume the role.
The movie will be produced by 'Harry Potter' screenwriter Steve Kloves, while his daughter Callie Kloves is set to write the film.
'Jungle Book: Origins' is scheduled to be released on October 21, 2016.
Meanwhile, it was confirmed recently that Cumberbatch will reprise his role as Sherlock in the eponymous BBC series.
The hit detective drama, which also features Martin Freeman as Sherlock's sidekick, Watson, will return to BBC One in 2015.
The BBC said that the one-off episode, which is due to be filmed in January 2015, promises to be "one of the biggest mysteries yet".
The episode will be followed by a three-part fourth series of 'Sherlock', which will film later in the year.

Fredrik Bond is to direct 'London Has Fallen', the sequel to 'Olympus Has Fallen'. The terrorism thriller will see Bond, who recently directed Shia LeBeouf drama 'Charlie Countryman', work with a host of big name stars, including Gerard Butler, Aaron ...

Ariana Grande has defended showing "more and more skin".
The pint-sized pop star has hit back at criticism she's giving into music industry pressure to strip down on stage and in her latest videos, and insists it is solely her decision to dress more provocatively.
She told Attitude magazine: "I've seen people online saying, 'It's so sad she's becoming a product of this industry - she's wearing shorter and shorter skirts and showing more and more skin.' I'm like, 'Yeah, because I want to.'
"Believe me, if I don't want to do something I will not do it, and I say that with every ounce of passion in my body.
"I'm a very flexible person but if I feel like you want me to compromise my views or myself as an artist, you can go f**k yourself."
While the Break Free singer is happy to evolve her style, Ariana - who first found fame on Nickelodeon children's shows 'Victorious' and 'Sam and Cat' - insists she won't alienate her younger fan base.
The 21-year-old star explained: "I've wanted to do this forever and I'm not going to jeopardise it by allowing someone else to take control. When I'm ready to progress naturally, I will. That's something I've been careful about my whole career because I don't want to do something that will shock or upset my younger fans. They're the ones who've been with me since the beginning."

Professor Green refuses to change his musical style to sell records.
The 30-year-old rapper won't give into the latest trends in a bid to boost sales of his upcoming album 'Growing Up in Public' as he doesn't want to alienate his fans who have supported him throughout his career.
He told the Daily Star newspaper: "A lot of people change their sound to sell records - you know who I'm talking about - but they just alienate their fan base because pop fans are way more fickle. The key is that I've never been scared of melody, I didn't come out on a trend."
The 'Lullaby' rapper survived a near-fatal car accident last year and got married to former 'Made in Chelsea' star Millie Mackintosh, so he feels the title of his third record is appropriate.
Green explained: "I came up with the title before all of that crazy stuff happened, so in a way it was a self-fulfilling prophecy. It has given me a lot of stuff to talk about."
The 'Read All About It' hitmaker has also added a new string to his bow by singing on the album after crooner Robbie Williams backed out of a proposed collaboration.
He added: "The track with Robbie ended up with me singing the chorus, which is a nice result ... It's good to push myself like that."

The Dutch and Belgian kings have been nominated to do the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and Belgium's King Philip were put forward to have freezing cold water poured over their heads to raise awareness for nerve ce...

Nick Cannon is reportedly "living out of hotels".
The 'America's Got Talent' host and wife Mariah Carey - who have four-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe together - are said to be "living separately" following a series of rows.
A source said: "He hasn't been staying at their home. He's been living out of hotels. They're fighting a lot."
Another insider claimed Mariah, 45, has grown increasingly suspicious of her 33-year-old spouse - who she married in 2008 - and even hired security to keep him away from women when he hosted pool parties in Las Vegas earlier this year.
The source told the New York Post newspaper's Page Six column: "The security guard wasn't there to keep the girls away from him.
"It was to keep him away from the girls."
The 'Hero' singer is said to have told Nick she didn't want him drinking at the Las Vegas shows because she felt the comic "gets in trouble when he drinks."
The pair are usually very active on social media but have not been pictured together for months and Mariah hasn't mentioned her spouse since June.
The 'Fantasy' singer - who was married to record company boss Tommy Motola from 1993 to 1998 -- and Nick put their mansion up for sale in July.

Madonna's boyfriend Timor Steffens likes older women because they remind him of his mother.
The 26-year-old dancer - who has been dating the 56-year-old singer since January - has revealed he always dates older women because their strength and maturity reminds him of his mother, who raised him by herself when she and his father split up.
He explained: "There is an age gap between me and Madonna but I don't notice it.
"My girlfriends have always been older than me and that's how I like it. I learn a lot.
"Mum is a big inspiration. She is a fighter, a strong independent woman, and any relationship I've had in the past was mostly with women that are independent and like to have an opinion."
Timor also confessed he'd like to have children with Madonna - who already has daughters Lourdes and Mercy and sons Rocco and David - because he wants to be a better father than his was.
He told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "I want to be a dad, it's my goal to have my own family, that's there in the back of my mind all the time."
Despite Timor's comments, his absence from a family holiday in the South of France has sparked speculation his romance with Madonna - who was previously married to Sean Penn and Guy Ritchie - has come to an end.
The choreographer was spotted with the 'Hung Up' hitmaker on August 2 when she first kicked off her summer getaway but hasn't been seen since, suggesting he missed out on her son Rocco's birthday and her own birthday celebrations in Ibiza.
But a source claims the star hasn't ended their relationship, telling E! News: "Based on past relationships. I don't think she'd dump him mid-trip. If she was going to break up with Timor, I would think she would've done it before the trip like she did with Brahim [Zaibat]."

Sam Smith "s**t his pants" when he met Kim Kardashian West.
The 'Stay With Me' singer is a massive pop culture fan and was overawed when he met the brunette beauty because he is so obsessed with her reality show 'Keeping up with the Kardashians'.
Sam, 22, told The Sun newspaper: "I s**t my pants when I met Kim Kardashian because I've been watching their whole series.
"She probably wears a lot of make-up but she looks like she doesn't, she was natural."
And Sam was particularly excited when Kim - who has 14-month-old daughter North with husband Kanye West - told him her whole family were fans of his.
He added: "The first thing she said was, 'I just texted Kanye and told him you're here'.
"She told me their whole family has been listening to my record. Kendall Jenner loves it and they play it all the time."
The singer has just been asked to perform at the MTV Video Music Awards, which means he'll get to appear in front of his idol Beyonce and he is already worried about getting starstruck.
Sam reflected: "I don't know how I'm going to hold it together.
"If I sing and she's in front of me, I'll just cry. My music is so heavily inspired by her."

Jake Wood has signed up for 'Strictly Come Dancing'.
The 'EastEnders' actor - who plays Max Branning in the BBC One soap - is being tipped for success on the ballroom show by literally following in the impressive footsteps of other Albert Square favourites to have competed on the programme, such as Scott Maslen (Jack Branning) and Charlie Brooks (Janine Butcher).
An insider told The Sun newspaper: "'EastEnders' stars have traditionally done well on Strictly and Jake hopes he can do the same.
"Bosses hope he'll be a favourite among female viewers, particularly since his soap character is such a hit with the ladies."
Jake will have no doubt got some advice from his former on-screen brother Scott as they are still good friends and were recently spotted out and about in London together.
The 42-year-old star is set to be joined by The Saturdays singer Frankie Sandford, tennis star Andy Murray's mother Judy and 'This Morning' host Alison Hammond after all three were confirmed for this year's lineup.
Judy recently said: "I'm a huge 'Strictly Come Dancing' fan but a total armchair dancer. It's going to be a big challenge for me and for whoever has to dance with me but I absolutely can't wait to get started!"

Mark Wright has confirmed he is in talks to appear on 'Strictly Come Dancing'.
The former 'The Only Way is Essex' star - who is engaged to Michelle Keegan - thinks competing on the show would be "amazing", but he hasn't yet made a final decision.
He said: "I can say I've spoken to 'Strictly Come Dancing' but I haven't made a decision yet, nothing is confirmed but there have been chats.
"It's an amazing show and I'd love to learn how to dance. It would be a great experience."
If he does get onto the show, Mark should have no problem with the gruelling rehearsals as he and Michelle have been working out regularly.
He told Closer magazine: "We're members of the same gym and we work out at the same time but we don't train together - she does her own thing and I do mine."
If Mark does land a spot on the celebrity dance contest, he will be competing against The Saturdays singer Frankie Sandford, TV presenter Alison Hammond and tennis ace Andy Murray's mum Judy, the only three names to be confirmed as yet.

Johnny Depp is teaming up with his daughter for his next movie.
The 51-year-old star will appear opposite 15-year-old Lily-Rose in upcoming comic book movie 'Yoga Hosers', and the pair are onboard alongside another father-daughter combination in Kevin Smith, who will direct the motion picture, and his 15-year-old daughter Harley Quinn Smith.
Kevin, who has also written the screenplay, told Hollywood Reporter: "People always ask me, 'Are you ever going to make a comic book movie?'
"This is it - but instead of yet another dude saving the day, our anti-heroes are the most feared and formidable creatures man has ever encountered: two 15-year-old girls."
Lily-Rose and Harley will play two teenage yoga enthusiasts who go up against a villain threatening to spoil their big party plans.
Kim Leadford, CEO of StarStream Entertainment - which is financing the film - said: "The timing couldn't be more perfect as so many production companies are struggling to find content to fill a serious void in the market of female superheroes and anti-heroes. And it's pretty exciting to have their dads making the film with them."
Several other stars have also joined the cast including Adam Brody, Austin Butler and Tyler Posey.
The film follows on from Smith's horror dramedy 'Tusk' and the director has brought a number of cast members with him from the movie to star in 'Yoga Hosers'.
As well as Depp, who played Guy LaPointe in 'Tusk', Haley Joel Osment, Michael Parks, Justin Long, Genesis Rodriguez and Ralph Garman are also set to star in 'Yoga Hosers', which is expected to be released next year.

Calvin Harris has been named the highest paid DJ in the world after earning $66 million in 12 months.
The 30-year-old Scot scooped the title for the second consecutive year after topping Forbes' Electronic Cash Kings list with his huge $66 million (£39.8 million) earnings in the past 12 months, $20 million more than he earned to reach the summit last year.
Putting his success partly down to luck, the modest music mixer told Forbes: "The rise of dance music has been astronomical in the last three years. I happened to be in the right place at the right time."
Calvin - who has recently split from singer Rita Ora - beat off competition from the likes of David Guetta, who was second on the list with $30 million earnings in the past 12 months.
Tiesto was narrowly behind in third with $28 million after recently ditching his Ibiza residency.
Explaining his decision, he said: "I've been going there for the last 10 years, it felt there was nothing special. And then I got the offer to play in Las Vegas ... They made me a great proposal, not just the money but also what they're going to do there, the biggest club in the world."
Avicii tied with Tiesto in joint third place, while the top five was completed by Steve Aoki, son of Benihana founder Rocky Aoki, thanks to his $23 million earnings.

Forbes' Electronic Cash Kings list of top five highest paid DJs:

1. Calvin Harris ($66 million)
2. David Guetta ($30 million)
3. Tiesto ($28 million)
3. Avicii ($28 million)
5. Steve Aoki ($23 million)