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Tarzan could soon be swinging back onto the big screen, courtesy of Sony Pictures.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony has acquired the movie rights to Tarzan from the estate of the classic pulp hero's original creator, Edgar Rice Burroughs. THR reports that Sony is planning a "total reinvention" of the Tarzan character and IP, though no writer, filmmaker or producer are currently attached to a prospective project. Sony also declined to comment on the matter at this time.
Tarzan Is Making a Comeback
Tarzan -- a feral child who was raised in the African jungle by a tribe of apes known as the Mangani following the deaths of his British parents -- first appeared in Burroughs' story Tarzan of the Apes, which was serialized in The All-Story magazine starting in 1912 before being published as a novel in 1914. Burroughs went on to author many more Tarzan novels before his death in 1950.
The character of Tarzan is certainly no stranger to the world of cinema. The character's first big-screen appearance came in the 1918 silent film Tarzan of the Apes, which was based upon the first half of Burroughs' original novel of the same name and starred Elmo Lincoln as Tarzan. Lincoln reprised his role in The Romance of Tarzan, which also released in 1918 and was based on the second half of Burroughs' novel. Gene Pollar then starred in the 1920 silent film The Revenge of Tarzan, with James Pierce starring in 1927's Tarzan and the Golden Lion, which also starred a then-unknown Boris Karloff as the antagonist.
Tarzan received his first talking picture in the form of the 1932 feature Tarzan the Ape Man, which starred Johnny Weissmuller in the lead role. Weissmuller played Tarzan in a total of 12 films, concluding his time as the character with Tarzan and the Mermaids in 1948. Tarzan was subsequently played by the likes of Lex Barker, Gordon Scott, Jock Mahoney and Mike Henry in a combined 16 films from 1949 to 1968. Since then, only four more live-action Tarzan feature films have been released in theaters, each starring a different actor in the lead role.
Tarzan the Ape Man hit theaters in 1981, starring Miles O'Keeffe as Tarzan. Christopher Lambert took over the role for Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, which released in 1984 as the first of three Tarzan films to be produced by Warner Bros. Pictures. Casper Van Dien then portrayed Tarzan in 1998's Tarzan and the Lost City. Most recently, Warner Bros. put out The Legend of Tarzan in 2016. The film starred Alexander Skarsgård as Tarzan opposite Margot Robbie as the character's long-time love interest, Jane.
All that being said, most modern audiences are likely most familiar with Disney's 1999 animated film Tarzan, which starred Tony Goldwyn as the voice of Tarzan. Disney released two direct-to-video sequels, Tarzan & Jane and Tarzan II, in 1999 and 2005, respectively. Of course, there are many other adaptations of the classic character, including film serials and animated features not made by Disney, not to mention a number of comic books, television shows and radio programs.
However, while the Tarzan brand is certainly enduring, it is not above criticism. Over the years, Burroughs' original books and their adaptations have been taken to task for their outdated views, tropes and stereotypes. This could serve to explain why Sony reportedly seeks to rebuild the character from the ground up for future projects.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter