With all the movies about superheroes and other reboots and spin-offs of well-known properties hitting cinema screens next year, it’s almost easy to forget that one of the oldest and most beloved genre properties is also making a comeback in 2016: Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan. Now Warner Brothers has released the first images from director David Yates’ The Legend of Tarzan, which stars former True Blood hunk Alexander SkarsgÃ¥rd in the title role, and Suicide Squad’s Margot Robbie as Jane. Joining them are Christoph Waltz, Djimon Hounsou, Samuel L. Jackson, and John Hurt in supporting roles.Â
Based on the images released — one which is just showing off SkarsgÃ¥rd’s insanely chiseled body, and the other being a sexified pic of Tarzan and Jane — it’s clear that the studio is aiming this movie squarely at the female audience that lined up for Fifty Shades of Grey earlier this year. And why not? It’s not like that segment of the population has a ton movies aimed at them every year. Having said that, were it not for the initial movie poster they also just released, which shows SkarsgÃ¥rd with an angry ape, you might think this movie was a paperback romance novel you find at the grocery store, rather than a Tarzan story.
Tarzan movies were huge business in the 1930s and ’40s, with one or more movie appearing yearly, making for one of Hollywood’s longest running franchises. Sadly, the property hasn’t fared as well in the modern era. The last attempt at a “sexy” version of the Tarzan story was Tarzan the Ape-Man in 1981, which was cited as one of the worst movies ever made at the time. The 1984 Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan with Highlander star Christopher Lambert was a serious take on the story, but only did so-so business at the box office.
Since then, all other attempts at bringing the story to life have been low-budget, ultimately forgettable versions, with the notable exception of Disney’s animated hit film. Will this latest version restore Lord Greystoke to his former throne as the king of Hollywood franchises? We’ll find out on July 1, 2016, when The Legend of Tarzan hits theaters. In the meantime, check out the new images and teaser poster in our gallery below.
IMAGES: Warner Brothers
