Sony’s plans include reinventing the character to suit the times
Edgar Rice Burroughs’s classic hero Tarzan might be coming to the big screen again.
Rights for the character has been acquired by Sony from the creator’s estate, Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc., and they are planning to do a “total reinvention” of the character and all that comes with him.
The Story Of Tarzan
Tarzan’s story is popular among all generations; boy gets orphaned during a plane crash into a jungle and is adopted by great apes. He falls for Jane, who is accompanying her father on a forest expedition, and they eventually get married and move to England. However, after finding the world of humans to be barbaric, Tarzan decides to return to Africa. Throughout all this, we see the jungle man fighting rogue apes, lions, and evil humans, and discovering lost cities.
The stories were first published in 1912, and were seen in movies, tv shows, radio shows, and comic strips in the years that followed. It even got a broadway adaptation after the 1999 animated movie by Disney became a global hit.
Why It Failed In Modern Times
While the character enjoyed significant success in the previous century, its difficult in present times. In 2016, Warner Bros. tried making a darker movie about the character, starring Alexander Skarsgard and Margot Robbie in the lead. However, it failed. One big reason is that the Tarzan books will simply not find success in this era because it had colonialism, racial and gender stereotypes, and the ultimate savior being a white man. So it’s understandable why Sony will want to make the character relevant to the 21st century.
Are you excited to see a modern Tarzan?