You can take David Yates’ name out of the hopper of potential directors hoping to helm Star Wars: Episode VII. The Harry Potter filmmaker, according to Vulture, just committed to an adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan for Warner Bros. 

 

Yates was a reputed television director who elevated his profile when he grabbed the reigns of the Potter franchise in 2007, helming The Order of the Phoenix. Warner was so impressed, they kept Yates on the clock, and he finished out the series by helming the critically acclaimed and financially successful Half-Blood Prince, Deathly Hallows: Part 1, and Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

 

Tarzan, however, is a different beast. While Hollywood has had some success with Rice Burroughs’ vine-swinging hero in the past, modern audiences haven’t shown much enthusiasm for planned adaptations. The last relevant Tarzan story was an animated adventure birthed by Disney back in 1999. (That movie spawned two direct-to-DVD sequels). 

 

Vulture says Yates has moved on to potential casting, and is looking at Henry Cavill (who plays Superman in the studio’s Man of Steel), Charlie Hunnam (who stars in the studio’s Pacific Rim), and True Blood’s Alexander Skarsgard. The site adds that Warner execs would like Yates to consider Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises), though it’s unclear if the actor – currently shooting Mad Max: Fury Road – is interested in the Tarzan franchise.

 

So the wheels are spinning on a new, live-action Tarzan movie, and Warner has locked up a big-picture director with an eye for fantasy visuals and experience piloting a massive franchise. Yates sounds like a great hire to me. How about by you?

 

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