Before returning to J.K. Rowling’s fantastical world of witchcraft and wizardry with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, David Yates will steer Edgar Rice Burroughs’ title hero onto the silver screen once more with the CG-laden reboot, The Legend of Tarzan.
Placing Alexander Skarsgård in the iconic role of John Clayton, Yates’ take on the source material shakes things up in the sense that Tarzan, after growing up in the thick of the Congo jungle, attempts to adopt to modern life in Victorian London alongside his doting wife, Jane Porter (Margot Robbie).
But the lure of the jungle proves to strong for Skarsgård’s King of the Apes. Toss in Christoph Waltz’s scheming Belgian, Captain Leon Rom, and you have an old-school tale of Tarzan returning to fight for his home – his real home – and ultimately protect those friends in danger.
Also starring Djimon Hounsou as Chief Mbonga and Samuel L. Jackson as George Washington Williams, Warner Bros.’ tentpole is one of the early red herrings going into the summer blockbuster season, and it remains to be seen whether moviegoers will still have an appetite for wild reboots in the wake of Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book next month.
Alexander Skarsgård swings into action as Edgar Rice Burroughs’ title hero when The Legend of Tarzan roars to life on July 1.
It has been years since the man once known as Tarzan (Skarsgård) left the jungles of Africa behind for a gentrified life as John Clayton III, Lord Greystoke, with his beloved wife, Jane (Robbie) at his side. Now, he has been invited back to the Congo to serve as a trade emissary of Parliament, unaware that he is a pawn in a deadly convergence of greed and revenge, masterminded by the Belgian, Captain Leon Rom (Waltz). But those behind the murderous plot have no idea what they are about to unleash.