CRI听力:Disney Casts Lead for Live-Action Version of "The Jungle Book"

Disney has cast the lead for its live-action adaptation of the 1976 animated classic "The Jungle Book."

The studio says newcomer child-actor Neel Sethi has been picked to play the role of "Mogwli" in the upcoming film.

The 10-year-old New York native was reportedly chosen out of thousands of youngsters from the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and New Zealand.

In a statement, director John Favreau, who is helming the project, says that Neel possesses "tremendous talent and charisma."

Being that Neel will be the only real actor on screen, with the rest of the animal characters being computer generated, a lot will be riding on the young actor.

Favreau says he's confident that Neel "could handle it."

Already on-board to voice the film's CG cast are British actors Ben Kingsley and Idris Elba, along with American actress Scarlett Johansson.

The new live-action version of "The Jungle Book" is set to hit theatres in October, next year.