Looks like Warner Bros. is pulling an “Akira,” “Paradise Lost” and “Arthur & Lancelot” on “Tarzan.” The studio, which famously shut down all of those aforementioned films while they were in pre-production, is doing the same thing with “Tarzan” for pretty much the same reason: money, money, money.
Deadline reports that WB are throwing in the towel, closing the production office, but offer the carrot that it might shoot next year. Yeah, we’ll see about that. Similar sorta promises were made about all of those other movies, and pretty much nothing has been heard about them since, so we’re not holding our breath. Apparently, the budget on this was the reason for the movie being shut down, with the studio perhaps realizing no one is in a rush to see a man swing around on a vine. And perhaps they were feeling burned by the poor reception of “Jack The Giant Slayer” earlier this year (which is set to lose a boatload of money) and don’t want to risk more cash on a franchise centered around plants. Or maybe they realized no one really wants this movie?
Anyway, the film tentatively had Alexander Skarsgard as the loinclothed hero and Samuel L. Jackson as Civil War veteran George Washington Williams (though neither were officially signed) in the story that follows John Clayton III, who gets reassimilated into society only to be asked by Queen Victoria to investigate some strange things going on in the Congo. Last month, Jessica Chastain was being chased for a role, and apparently Jamie Foxx was also being sought for the third lead.
Yates is apparently still attached, but with the Tom Hardy-starring gangster flick “Cicero” recently hiring a new writer, maybe his attention will turn to that. Sorry to the ladies who were hoping for two hours of shirtless Skarsgard — it’s not gonna happen, so you’ll just have to stick with your “True Blood” DVDs for now.