Tarzan is returning to the big screen, as Sony Pictures is attempting to give the franchise new life.
The Hollywood Reporter confirms that Sony will handle the next Tarzan film, which will serve as a reinvention for the next generation. The project is reportedly very early in development, so no writer, director, or producer is attached.
Per THR, Sony Pictures has struck a deal with the estate of original book author Edgar Rice Burroughs, which owns the Tarzan trademark. The character is interesting though as it straddles the line between the public domain and a legit IP. Early adventures are in the public domain, but Burroughs wrote stories well into the 1940s, with some tales published years after his death in 1950.
We first saw the character in Tarzan of the Apes, originally appearing in 1918. We later saw the 1999 animated movie from Disney, a popular animated series from Filmation in the ’70s, and Broadway adaptations.
The most recent feature adaptation was Warner Bros.’ The Legend of Tarzan, starring Alexander Skarsgård and Margot Robbie. While the 2016 film tried to flesh out the colonialist aspects of the original IP, it was poorly received. The Legend of Tarzan would go on to gross $350 million worldwide and scored a 35% on Rotten Tomatoes.
If you’re unfamiliar, Tarzan is a young man born into English nobility. When he was a small child, his parents were stranded in the African Jungle and died. From there, he’s raised by apes with no contact with Western culture; he soon becomes the “King of the Apes” and faces his past when he meets other humans later in life.
This is Sony’s first attempt at the long-running Tarzan character and is looking at a “re-imagining of the Ape Man for audiences in this time and space of the 21st century.”
