Benedict Cumberbatch is to voice the villainous tiger Shere Khan in Andy Serkis' Jungle Book: Origins movie.

The Planet Of The Apes star is making his feature directing debut with the motion capture, live action film, based on Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book.

Now the Hollywood Reporter has confirmed Sherlock star Benedict as the first star to sign up to the project, which Warner Bros has announced will begin shooting next year, ahead of its release in October 2016.

The project is a rival to Disney's CGI adaptation of The Jungle Book, directed by Jon Favreau.

That film will feature only one live action character - orphan Mowgli who is raised by animals, played by newcomer Neel Sethi - and all the animals will be CGI.

Idris Elba is to voice Shere Khan in the Disney version, due for release in October 2015.

It boasts an all-star cast including Bill Murray as the voice of Baloo the bear, Christopher Walken as the voice of King Louie, ruler of the apes and monkeys, Sir Ben Kingsley as the black panther Bagheera, Lupita Nyong'o as the mother wolf Raksha, and Scarlett Johansson as the python Kaa.