Shere Khan
In the 2018 live-action film "", Shere Khan is portrayed in motion-capture and voice-over by Benedict Cumberbatch. This version of Shere Khan bears a closer resemblance to his novel counterpart in that he is crippled with a deformed front leg. He is also considerably more sinister than previous incarnations as he continually strives to gain more power and influence among the jungle's creatures as he seeks to kill Mowgli. Shere Khan first appears in the beginning of the film breaking jungle law by killing Mowgli's parents. When the infant Mowgli escapes him thanks to the intervention of Bagheera and the wolf pack, Shere Khan is informed of his whereabouts by his hyena minion Tabaqui and challenges Akela for him. When this fails, Shere Khan leaves for many years until he announces his return by killing man's cattle and leaving it for Baloo and the pack to find. He also pursues Mowgli during the latter's swim and subsequent escape, but fails to catch him after Mowgli falls into a tiger pit and an elephant rescues him. Shere Khan next appears when the Bandar-Log monkeys bring Mowgli to him on Tabaqui's orders, where he tries to eat Mowgli while the boy has been knocked unconscious. The intervention of Baloo, Bagheera and Kaa stops Shere Khan, and he waits until Akela is challenged for leadership to try and claim the boy again after Akela fails to catch a deer. However, Mowgli drives him away with a burning branch taken from the Man-Village. Afterwards, Shere Khan divides the wolf pack with his followers haranguing and raiding Akela's pack and their allies. Mowgli, having lived in the Man-Village and seeking to rid the jungle of the tiger's influence, calls out Shere Khan. The boy then faces off against the tiger, aided by the elephants before he manages to mortally wound Shere Khan. However, the hunter pursuing Shere Khan, John Lockwood, accidentally grazes Mowgli with a bullet and shoots Akela as he stops the tiger from killing Mowgli causing the elephant whose tusk was shot off by Lockwood to intervene and kill the hunter to prevent more death. As the other animals rally to Mowgli, Shere Khan slinks away and collapses, playing dead to try and lure Mowgli in. However, Mowgli fails to let his guard down and kills Shere Khan with his knife as the tiger tries to kill him, ending his reign of terror once and for all.