Samuel L. Jackson, Margot Robbie and Christoph Waltz have been officially confirmed for Warner Bros’ Tarzan reboot, starring Alexander Skarsgard.
Last we wrote about this project in 2013, Jackson was said to be “in talks” to join the cast, with David Yates (director of 4 Harry Potter movies) attached to direct the adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ creation.
Plot details which were previously being kept underwraps, now reportedly will follow Tarzan after he’s been re-assimilated into society, where he is asked by the Queen of England to investigate the wrongdoings of a warlord in the Congo with the help of an ex-mercenary.
It was previously suggested that Jackson would play a character named George Washington Williams, an ex-mercenary who teams up with Tarzan to save the Congo from the warlord who controls a massive diamond mine.
The rumor now is that Jackson will in fact play the Congolese warlord! Again, that’s the rumor. It’s not been confirmed.
But if I were a betting man, I’d say that the former (George Washington Williams) is more likely. Assuming that to be the case, it’s worth noting that George Washington Williams is a real life historical figure who was a Civil War veteran, and is maybe best known as the author of History of the Negro Race in America, widely considered the first objective history of African Americans. In addition to being an author, Williams was also a pastor, attorney and legislator, as the first African American to serve in the Ohio House of Representatives.
What was his Congo connection in real life? He is said to have visited the country when it was controlled by Belgian King Leopold II, and was outspoken on the suffering the indigenous people were experiencing under Leopold’s rule – a humanitarian disaster that saw the death’s of millions, which Williams would report on.
This was all in the late 1800s to early 1900s.
Williams story could be at the center of a movie its own, don’t you think?
Jamie Foxx was apparently also in consideration for the role, but there were some scheduling difficulties.
This new Tarzan is being produced by Jerry Weintraub, Alan Riche, Peter Riche, Mike Richardson and Keith Goldberg of Dark Horse Entertainment.