Sony plans to 'reinvent' Tarzan and update the story for a new generation

Sony Pictures has purchased the rights to Tarzan, the original character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the company is seeking to do a "total reinvention" of the character and intellectual property. THR theorizes that the need for a reinvention comes from the problematic source material: the Burroughs books contain racial and gender stereotypes, as well as ideas of colonialism and the white savior complex.

Tarzan of the Apes was first published in 1912, depicting the story of an abandoned child who comes to be raised by apes and falls in love with a human woman named Jane. A silent picture adaptation debuted in 1918, followed by The Romances of Tarzan, and more than 30 films through 1968. Tarzan was revived again in 1982, though the most famous Tarzan film is none other than Disney's animated, Academy Award-winning Tarzan that came out in 1999. The film grossed over $480m against a $130m budget and would go on to spawn a Broadway musical, a television series, and two sequels.

In 2016, Alexander Skarsgard played the titular hero in the live-action film The Legend of Tarzan. Warner Bros. hoped it would be the start of a new trilogy or franchise, but plans were scrapped – perhaps due to the film's poor critical response.

No writers, filmmakers, or producers are attached to any Tarzan-related projects as of yet.

For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2022 and beyond, or skip right to the essentials with our list of movie release dates.