Alexander Skarsgard has been hard at work lately, but it has nothing to do with vampires. The former True Blood star is now Tarzan and we’re finally getting our first look at Warner Bros.’ new take on the Edgar Rice Burroughs character.
On Tuesday, USA Today got a sneak peek at The Legend of Tarzan, which is being directed by Harry Potter’s David Yates. Even though Tarzan is still in post-production, Yates is already working on his next film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
As Skarsgard explained at the Savannah Film Festival in October, his new Tarzan is much different than what we’re used to seeing in pop culture adaptations of Burroughs’ stories. Legend of Tarzan actually takes place a decade after John Clayton III, Lord Greystoke, left Africa and is living happily with his wife, Jane (Margot Robbie).
When the government asks him to be an emissary of Parliament, a reluctant Tarzan returns to the Congo, where he finds danger and adventure.
“It’s almost the opposite of the classic tale, where it’s about taming the beast,” Skarsgard told USA Today. “This is about a man who’s holding back and slowly as you peel off the layers, he reverts back to a more animalistic state and lets that side of his personality out.”
Other members of the cast include Djimon Hounsou, Samuel L. Jackson and Christoph Waltz. The film was also not shot on location, with CGI animation and an intricate set built in England standing in for the African jungle.
The Legend of Tarzan opens on July 1, 2016.