Speaking with
Crave Online while promoting his new film
Disconnect, Alexander Skarsgard says that he isn't attached to star in Warner Bros.' live action take on
Tarzan, despite being the frontrunner to play the legendary King of the Apes. He praises the script, but he's hesitant about taking on such a big blockbuster which isn't easy to produce.
"No, I mean we’ll see what happens. I’m not quite sure yet. It’s a very, very good script. It’s a really, really good script, but it’s also a very big movie so it’s not super easy to just get a project like that off the ground." The
True Blood and
Battleship star also has nothing but good things to say about David Yates, who will direct the adaptation.
"He’s arguably one of the greatest directors out there. He’s a phenomenal, very intelligent guy, an amazing director."
Skarsgard (who was also in the running to play Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) then shares his thoughts on big budget films, aying that he hasn't been seriously courting a franchise.
"No, not at all. It’s all about finding scripts and directors that I’m creatively excited about, be it a small European arthouse film like Melancholia or a cool little gritty indie like Disconnect or a huge movie. Whatever it is, it’s always about the script, the character and the director. Am I excited about working with this director and exploring this character. So I don’t really care about other things." WB's
Tarzan was also targeting Samuel L. Jackson (
Marvel's The Avengers for the role of George Washington Williams, with Jessica Chastain (
Zero Dark Thirty) being the top choice to play Jane Porter. Do you want to see Alexander Skarsgard as
Tarzan? Below is a plot summary for the film.
John Clayton III [is] known around the world as the famous "ape man" Tarzan. Years after he's re-assimilated into society, he's asked by Queen Victoria to investigate the goings-on in the Congo. Tarzan teams with an ex-mercenary named George Washington Williams to save the Congo from a fierce warlord who controls a massive diamond mine.