Disney Studios is looking at London-native star Idris Elba to voice Shere Khan, a killer tiger, in a live-action version of The Jungle Book.

Deadline Hollywood reported Thursday that Elba and the studio are in final negations for the role, which has Iron Man director Jon Favreau in the director's chair.

The film, based on the classic Rudyard Kipling fable, will incorporate live-action footage with computer-generated scenes like those seen in Avatar with the help of Hugo visual effects artist Rob Legato.

The Jungle Book, which was published in 1894, is the story of a young orphaned boy who is raised in the jungle by wild animals and is pitted against the tiger Shere Khan.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Warner Bros. is also in the early stages of producing a Jungle Book film but has not chosen a director yet. However, with the news of Disney making more headway, is unlikely that Warner Bros. will continue its pursuit of the adaptation.

The 41-year-old Elba has received critical acclaim with his most recent feature and biopic, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.

Elba has been working on a number of titles recently such as Beasts of No Nation with True Detective creator Cary Fukunaga, Second Coming and No Good Deed, which are due out later this year.

His most recent projects have included the television series Luther, and the films Pacific Rim, Thor: The Dark World and Prometheus.

Favreau's most recent film Chef, which he directed and starred in, is a comedy about a chef who starts a food truck after losing his restaurant job. Chef premiered at the South by Southwest Film Conference & Festival Friday night. The film also stars Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., Sofia Vergara, Dustin Hoffman and John Leguizama.

Chef opens nationally on May 9. A release date for The Jungle Book has not been set yet.

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