Warner Bros. Pictures has finally released initial promotional photos and a teaser trailer of the upcoming film, "The Legend of Tarzan". The teaser trailer was posted on the YouTube account of Warner Bros. Pictures on December 9, 2015. On that same day, USA Today released the first promotional photos from the film on Twitter. The most popular of these is of a shirtless Tarzan portrayed by Hollywood-based Swedish actor, Alexander Skarsgård.
This buff photo of a lean Skarsgård is currently a trending hot topic among fans of Skarsgård and scores of netizens who have seen it and admire Skarsgård's physique. The Wrap has dubbed it as "Alexander Skarsgård and His Jungle Abs", and even one Twitter user expressed disbelief at looking at it for a long time. The trailer, on the other hand, provoked mixed reactions from viewers ranging from interest to disappointment. The photos and teaser trailer continue to spark discussions online.
The Legend of Tarzan is the latest in over dozens of movie adaptations of the story of the titular character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Burroughs was the author of the "Tarzan" series of novels and the "Barsoom" tales, a series of sci-fi novels with a cult following which began with "A Princess of Mars".
Film director David Yates, who also directed the last four Harry Potter films, was very honest in sharing that he took a different approach to the film. It is unique from the series of novels first written in 1912, the 1930s and 1940s Tarzan movies which starred Johnny Weissmuller, and from pop culture interpretations of Tarzan. Instead of focusing on the orphaned boy Tarzan who grew up to be raised by an ape tribe and eventually learned the ways of civilized English society, Yates's version of Tarzan is "almost the opposite of the classic tale", as teased by Skarsgård. The film focuses on Tarzan ten years after he left Congo. He has been living a gentrified life as Lord Greystoke--a successful businessman and trader residing in Victorian London with his wife, Jane Porter. The couple have been invited back to Congo, with Lord Greystoke serving as trade emissary of Parliament and a motive to investigate illegal activities at a mining encampment. Only in Congo do they realize they have become pawns in an evil plot masterminded by Captain Rom, a corrupt and merciless villain out for revenge.
The cast also includes Christoph Waltz as Captain Leon Rom, Djimon Hounsou as Chief Mbonga, John Hurt as Professor Archimedes Porter, Margot Robbie as Jane Porter, and Samuel L. Jackson as George Washington Williams. Jim Broadbent also stars. Screenplay is by Adam Cozad and Craig Brewer.
The Legend of Tarzan is set for a worldwide theatrical release on July 1, 2016.
Join the Conversation