The Jungle Book: Jon Favreau on tracking down Bill Murray

Jon Favreau has had a wild and varied career, directing projects as disparate as indie treasures Swingers and Chef, to big-budget comic-book movies like Iron Man, to broad-appealing family adventures like Zathura. So taking on the live-action adaptation of Disney’s The Jungle Book isn’t too far afield for this jack-of-all-trades helmer. We talked to Favreau on EW Radio ahead of his opening weekend, which is on track to nab more than $70 million for the three-day frame.

Here he is breaking down the reason why he decided to reimagine this classic film.

One of the treats of the visually-stunning epic is the inclusion of Bill Murray as the loveable bear Baloo. Listen to Favreau explain how he landed the elusive star.

At the center of all the impressive voice talent, which, beyond Murray, includes Idris Elba, Christopher Walken, and Lupita Nyong’o, among many others, is a young boy named Neel Sethi who counts his role in this massive $175 million film as his first. That’s a lot of weight on some slight shoulders of a now 13-year old. Here is Favreau explaining how Sethi handled all the pressure.

The Jungle Book opens nationwide today.