EXCLUSIVE: Now that Warner Bros has pushed the release of its version of Jungle Book, the studio and director Andy Serkis have prevailed upon none other than the Oscar-winning Gravity director Alfonso Cuaron to come in and give notes on the project and see if there are ways to take the extra time to improve the picture. Insiders stress that Cuaron is a friend to the studio and there is sensitivity to this being misinterpreted as Cuaron taking over this movie. Production has been completed, but the filmmaker is doing this in an uncredited capacity.

Why not? Benedict Cumberbatch, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Matthew Rhys are part of the all star cast, with Serkis playing Baloo as well as helming and producing. Callie Kloves adapted the Rudyard Kipling tale. Disney beat this film to the punch, and its Jungle Book has become such a big hit, there really is no reason to rush. Earlier this month, Warner Bros pushed the release date from October 2017 to October 2018, prompting Serkis to tweet his gratitude. Clearly they want to use the time to hone the picture. Of course, Disney already has announced that it will develop a sequel with Jon Favreau, who helmed a film that has grossed $338 million globally in just five days. Cuaron is repped by UTA.