The movie world has a long and awkward association with Edgar Rice Burroughs’ half-naked hero Tarzan. Still best remembered for his Johnny Weissmuller incarnation from the 1930s and 40s, we’ve not seen a memorable live action interpretation since, though producers have certainly given it a stab with releases such as GREYSTOKE: THE LEGEND OF TARZAN (1984) and TARZAN IN MANHATTAN (1989). Disney brought us two animated versions (one of which was scored by Phil Collins for some reason) and now Warner Bros hopes to breathe life into the old loin cloth yet. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY star Djimon Hounsou has been announced in the role of “Chief Mbonga” for what the studio are banking on being an action-adventure smash.
He will join Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood) and Margot Robbie (THE WOLF OF WALL STREET). Hounsou has built a solid reputation for supporting parts over the years, and has a full slate for the foreseeable (with HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2, FAST AND FURIOUS 7, not to mention Marvel curveball GOTG), so this should at least buy him a nice car.
Director David Yates clearly has his sights set on franchise country again – since rounding off the POTTER cinematic saga he ruffled the BBC’s feathers by putting a new Doctor Who film in development, with TARZAN perhaps forming another opening gambit until that can be finalized. Is it worth resurrecting TARZAN, and what will the tone of the project be? GREYSTOKE became bogged down in worthy trappings and MANHATTAN was CROCODILE DUNDEE in pants… or maybe just pants. Some ideas are simply too old-fashioned to fly in my view and this could be a colossal waste of everybody’s time, but Yates could have some chimpanzee-shaped aces up his sleeve.
Source: Deadline
