Famed director Guillermo del Toro and Warner Bros., along with producer Jerry Weintraub believe there is still plenty of life left in Tarzan’s story, especially if the Edgar Rice Burroughs classic character is treated with the respect and honesty that is found in the author’s original concept of the jungle hero.
Weintraub wants del Toro to direct and is negotiating with “Happy Feet” and “Master and Commander: Far Side of the World” scribe John Collee to take another look at Burroughs’ classic tale of the lost baby turned jungle savior. Del Toro has full confidence in Collee’s ability to give a true treatment, adding, “John will be writing it alone, as I’ll be in production on ‘Hellboy 2’ and pursuing writing projects of my own. He’s (Collee) got a great sense of adventure and the wilderness.”
Burroughs first introduced his famous character back in 1914 and Tarzan rose to iconic status almost immediately, beloved by book, comic book, TV and movie fans worldwide. To-date, the most loved film portrayal of Tarzan is still the Johnny Weissmuller interpretation done in the old 1930’s and 1940’s franchise movies. However, the resemblence to the Burroughs’ original created character was in name only.
In an interview del Toro was asked why he has such a pull toward this character. “I’d love to create a new version that is still a family movie, but as edgy as I can make it, commented del Toro. “There are strong themes of survival of a defenseless child left behind in the most hostile environment.”
Very cool news.