Tarzan returns to theaters in a story of rescue and revenge.
"The Legend of Tarzan," scheduled to premiere in North American theaters on Friday, features Tarzan, played by Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgard, under the name John Clayton, living in a manor house in Victorian England and married to Jane, played by Margot Robbie.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) Tarzan may have left the jungle, but the call of the wild proved irresistible to the vine-swinging hero, and he is drawn back to the African forests, finding himself on a quest to rescue his kidnapped wife and the Congolese people in a new film.
"The Legend of Tarzan," scheduled to premiere in North American theaters on Friday, features Tarzan, played by Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgard, under the name John Clayton, living in a manor house in Victorian England and married to Jane, played by Margot Robbie.
However, an invitation from the Congo brings the Claytons back, where they are ambushed, and Jane is kidnapped by the nefarious Leon Rom (Christoph Waltz), who is tasked with delivering Tarzan to a tribal chief in exchange for diamonds.
"It's like the traditional story in reverse. We go back to the Congo instead of starting there," actress Margot Robbie told Reuters.
Skarsgard, best known for playing a vampire in the HBO series "True Blood," is the latest star to portray Tarzan, building muscle mass over nine months to embody the jungle hero's strength and animal-like agility.
"A transformation for an actor is always exciting," Skarsgard stated. "It was physically and mentally difficult at times because you're very isolated from friends and family for nine months. It wasn't difficult in a certain way because I was too excited and motivated."
The fictional story of Tarzan, based on the books by Edgar Rice Burroughs, is interwoven with the true story of George Washington Williams, an African-American historian who traveled to the Congo and criticized King Leopold II of Belgium for his brutal and cruel treatment of the Congolese people.
In the film, Samuel L. Jackson plays Williams, who helps save the Congolese people from being enslaved by the Belgian military.
"It's a way of establishing some historical accuracy," Jackson said. "This was something that was actually happening in the Congo at the time, and King Leopold is responsible for one of the greatest holocausts in Africa."