Not to be outdone by Disney and Jon Favreau’s motion-captured Jungle Book from last year, Andy Serkis has been hard at work on his own version. Where previously it had been titled The Jungle Book: Origins (yikes), Serkis has reportedly decided to simplify things a little and rename his film Mowgli, after the main character.

The Hollywood Reporter announced the name change Tuesday night. Serkis’ movie will be a “darker” take on the Rudyard Kipling story, which is an exciting prospect. There’s a lot of weird mythology in The Jungle Book that the Disney versions, being kid-friendly, choose not to delve into, and this way he can set his work apart from both the Disney cartoon and the 2016 motion-capture/live action version. Mowgli will also be primarily motion-capture, and will probably have a very different look from last year’s version.

I gotta say, Mowgli is a much, much better title than anything with a colon and the word “Origins” in it, if only because the memory of X-Men: Origins Wolverine is still so fresh and pungent. Besides, The Jungle Book is already an “origins” story, unless Serkis is planning to go back in time and tell us the life story of Shere Khan. Now that the movie’s called Mowgli, that’s probably not the case.

Mowgli opens in theaters October 19, 2018.

More From Mix 97.9 FM