Alexander Skarsgård May Holler 'Tarzan'

In the last couple years, Alexander Skarsgård has taken on roles ranging from controversial Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier's Melancholia to Peter Berg's Battleship, but now it looks like the 6' 4" heartthrob may be heading to the dense foliage of the tropics.

The Swedish-born actor has risen to the top of the contender list to star in David Yates' Tarzan for Warner Bros., Variety said. The film still is awaiting the official go-ahead from studio brass, but a late summer shoot is expected.

Come summer, Skarsgård may don the character of John Clayton III, aka Tarzan. The story follows the "re-assimilated" Clayton who is asked by H.M. Queen Victoria to team with mercenary George Washington Williams to save the Congo from a warlord who controls a rich diamond mine.

Samuel L. Jackson is a possibility to play Williams who is a Civil War vet who wants to repair his name following his involvement in a massacre of Native Americans.

Yates officially committed to the project last week, which, given all the colonial subtext, risks running afoul a sensitivity issue or two. Yates directed the last four installments of the Harry Potter franchise.

Toronto premieres Disconnect and What Maisie Knew will be Skarsgård's next starrers.

[Source: Variety]