Warner Bros. has released the first Mowgli trailer. Touting a closer adaptation of Ruyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book than the Disney version, Andy Serkis’ upcoming film shows Mowgli (Rohan Chand) as a feral child torn between his upbringing in the jungle and the human world he has never known.

As you can see from this trailer, you can tell that Warner Bros. is trying to position its movie as far away as possible from the upbeat Disney version that came out a couple years ago. What’s most intriguing here are the hints of Indian culture that Serkis is clearing weaving into the narrative, and it should give Mowgli a distinct personality that focuses on its title character rather than putting the talking animals front and center.

Check out the Mowgli trailer below along with a behind-the-scenes featurette and the first images, and click here for my interview with Serkis. The film opens October 19th and also stars Christian Bale as the cunning panther, Bagheera; Cate Blanchett as the sinister snake, Kaa;  Benedict Cumberbatch as the fearsome tiger, Shere Khan; Naomie Harris as Nisha, the female wolf, who adopts the baby Mowgli as one of her cubs; Andy Serkis as the wise bear, Baloo; Peter Mullan as the leader of the wolf pack, Akela; Jack Reynor as Mowgli’s Brother Wolf; Eddie Marsan as Nisha’s mate, Vihaan; and Tom Hollander as the scavenging hyena, Tabaqui.

Here’s the official synopsis for Mowgli:

“The story follows the upbringing of the human child Mowgli, raised by a wolf pack in the jungles of India. As he learns the often harsh rules of the jungle, under the tutelage of a bear named Baloo and a panther named Bagheera, Mowgli becomes accepted by the animals of the jungle as one of their own. All but one: the fearsome tiger Shere Khan. But there may be greater dangers lurking in the jungle, as Mowgli comes face to face with his human origins.”

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Image via Warner Bros.
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Image via Warner Bros.
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Image via Warner Bros.
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Image via Warner Bros.
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Image via Warner Bros.