Michael Keaton, Seth Rogen To Star In 'King of the Jungle' Based On John McAfee Story

Image from The Hollywood Reporter

By Darian Scalamoni

            Well here’s an interesting duo to share the screen. According to Deadline, Seth Rogen and Michael Keaton will co-star in the dark comedy, King of the Jungle. The movie that originally had Johnny Depp aboard to star tells a ridiculous but true story about tech tycoon, John McAfee.

            We reported back in May 2017 that Depp would be directed by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra and whilst Depp has departed the project, Requa and Ficarra will still helm the film. They are responsible for such features as Crazy Stupid Love, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot and Focus. It seems that King of the Jungle will be their next undertaking though they’re also set to write and direct the untitled Harley Quinn/Joker film that would star Margot Robbie and Jared Leto.

            The film will be based on an article from Wired magazine about McAfee, played by Keaton, who created the Antivirus software of the same name, who cashed in his riches to move to remote location in the jungle in Belize. It was there in which he set up a compound full of guns, sex and chaos. Rogen will play the writer of the article, Ari Furman, who thought he was heading there for a normal interview but quickly realized he was becoming a part of McAfee’s insane reality.

            I loved the sound of this project when it was announced back in 2017 and I think Keaton is a smarter choice given the recent status of Depp as an actor and box-office appeal. Rogen has shown that he has some acting chops as well when he starred in Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs so I’m interested to see his and Keaton’s chemistry on-screen.

            Rogen is voicing Pumbaa in the live-action version of The Lion King and will also star alongside Charlize Theron in the comedy, Flarsky. Keaton will be seen in a live-action Disney remake himself with 2019’s, Dumbo.