Tarzan Returning to Theaters

Perhaps inspired by that cringe worthy scene in the latest Indiana Jones flick, Warner Bros. and producer Jerry Weintraub are once again trying to get a new Tarzan movie off the ground. This time Stephen Sommers (The Mummy, Van Helsing) will be the one behind the camera.

Variety says that Sommers will also co-write the Tarzan script with Stuart Beattie. Sommers directed the recently wrapped G.I. Joe for Paramount, with Beattie penning the final draft of the screenplay.

Warner Bros. and Weintraub have been developing Tarzan since 2003, when John August was hired to pen a new take on the Edgar Rice Burroughs-created character. Two years ago, the studio was negotiating with Guillermo del Toro to direct.

Burroughs’ “Tarzan of the Apes” was written in 1912. Onscreen, the ape-man character became strongly identified with Johnny Weismuller during the 1930s in MGM’s series of features.