Sony Pictures Picks Up Rights to New Tarzan Movie

October 1, 2022

A new Tarzan film is getting ready to swing into theaters, as Sony Pictures has reportedly picked up the film rights to the character.

According to The Hollywood Report, Sony recently purchased the rights to the character’s film presence from creator Edgar Rice Burroughs’ estate and is looking to do a “total reinvention” of both the character and the intellectual property. As of now, no filmmaker, writers, or producers have been attached to a project, but the company is said to be looking for a “top-down re-imagining” of the iconic tale of Tarzan.

First published in 1912, the story of Tarzan — which focuses on an orphaned boy being raised in the jungle by great apes and then falling in love with a young woman — was a hit when it was launched. The tale soon made its way to other forms of media, the most famous of which was Disney’s 1999 animated classic.

Since the Disney film, however, it’s been a tough go for Tarzan, as various adaptations have failed, including Warner Bros.’ 2016 film starring Alexander Skarsgard and Margot Robbie, which failed at the box office.

The Hollywood Reporter points to the fact that, because of the ideas of colonialism, white savior tropes, and racial and gender stereotypes found in the original source material, Sony is looking to do an entirely new take on the character.