Did the King of the Jungle just lose his throne? According to Deadline.com, pre-production work on the years-in-the-making reboot of "Tarzan" has been shutdown by Warner Bros. The project could still spring to life again at some point in 2014.
Warner Bros. has been trying to make a "Tarzan" movie since May of 2011. As Deadline.com reported at the time, Warner Bros. commissioned two scripts for the film, which is based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs series. "Footloose" director Craig Brewer, who wrote one of the scripts, was attached to direct "Tarzan" in 2011, but he was replaced by David Yates in November of 2012. Yates had previously directed four "Harry Potter" films for Warner Bros.
Following Yates' attachement, the "Tarzan" cast came together: Alexander Skarsgard ("True Blood") was hired to play the title vine-swinger, while Samuel L. Jackson and Oscar-nominated "Zero Dark Thirty" star Jessica Chastain were reportedly involved in negotiations as well. According to this most recent Deadline.com report, Jamie Foxx was also supposedly up for a role.
This isn't the first time Warner Bros. has put the brakes on a big movie: Last year, the studio stopped plans to make "Jersey Boys," though that project could find its way back to the studio with Clint Eastwood as director.
For more on "Tarzan," head over to Deadline.com.
[via Deadline.com]