After spending years toiling in development hell, David Yates’ big-budgeted 3D reimagining of Tarzan is finally getting off the ground. The project had already been proposed, green-lit, shelved and canned by 2012, when Yates became involved. The director, known best for his work on the juggernaut Harry Potter franchise, has been working away to get Tarzan green-lit ever since, but Warner Bros. came close to pulling the plug last April over budget concerns. Now, it appears that the film finally has a clear path to the box-office, as the studio has slotted it for a July 1, 2016, release date.
In addition to the confirmed release date, Yates recently locked his cast into place. As previously reported, Alexander Skarsgård (above) of True Blood fame will play the title character, The Wolf of Wall Street‘s Margot Robbie has been set to play love interest Jane, Inglourious Basterds‘ Christoph Waltz will be the film’s villain and Samuel L. Jackson will appear as one of Tarzan’s friends. With that fine line-up of performers, I can already predict great things for Tarzan (provided Skarsgård can get a serious tan, of course).
Jerry Weintraub of Warner Bros. had this to say:
I am so pleased to be reuniting with the team at Warner Bros. on this thrilling project. David Yates and I are going to be using the best of today’s technology in creating this new adventure, and we can’t wait to get started.
A lot about Tarzan is still up in the air, as no screenwriter has been announced and next to nothing is known about how closely it will hew to either the original Edgar Rice Burroughs novels or the famed Disney flick, but Yates certainly has a little time to figure that out now that Warner Bros. has cemented their faith and handed him a pretty far-off release date.
Whether or not the film will actually end up arriving in July of that year, however, is a little more uncertain. Given that July 2016 already holds an untitled Marvel property, Angry Birds and ID Forever, Yates may end up shifting forward into August. Of course, filming won’t be underway for some time yet, so I’d expect news on that front to stay slow over the next few months.
Are you happy to see that Tarzan is finally moving forward? Sound off below!
Tarzan will land in 3D on July 1, 2016.
