He’s been talking about it for a while, but it was confirmed today that Guillermo del Toro has added a new big-screen version of Tarzan to his roster of upcoming projects.
Del Toro, fresh from his masterpiece, Pan’s Labyrinth, is prepping **Hellboy 2 **for a shoot in Hungary, London and Northern Ireland (hmm… wonder if he can direct IRA Zombies on the quick while he’s there?), but it would appear that his version of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ is going to shuffle onto the top of his in tray, just ahead of his H.P. Lovecraft adaptation, At The Mountains Of Madness.
"I'd love to create a new version that is still a family movie, but as edgy as I can make it," says Del Toro, who’s long been one of Empire’s favourite people. "There are strong themes of survival of a defenseless child left behind in the most hostile environment."
Indeed. For those of you whose last memory of Tarzan was either the dreadful Casper Van Dien version or, God help us all, Greystoke, then we’ll do a quick 101 for you: Edgar Rice Burroughs’ character. Son of British aristocrats, accidentally left behind in jungle. Raised by apes, becomes incredibly agile master of his environment. Falls for hot babe called Jane. You know the drill.
At the moment, Del Toro is only in negotiations with Warner Bros. and producer Jerry Weintraub to direct the movie, but it’s odds-on that a deal will be completed soon. With Del Toro busy on Hellboy 2, screenwriting duties have been passed to John Collee, who wrote Master & Commander: The Far Side Of The World. No word yet on whether Phil Collins will write any brilliant showtunes for the flick.
Frankly, we’d be nervous about this in the hands of pretty much any other director because, let’s face it, the potential for unintentional hilarity is there (as, of course, mined adroitly in the under-rated comedy, George Of The Jungle), from Tarzan’s famous yell to his limited vocabulary (actually only really a preserve of the movies), to his penchant for oiling up in a tiny loincloth.
But Del Toro is a master to bonding fantastical elements and wondrous visuals to humanist stories and he’ll be keen to return to the Burroughs novels for material, which means that Mr. Of The Apes could be battling all manner of nasty beasties. Just watch out for that tree, eh Guillermo?