We’re not sure we needed much more proof that Australian actress Margot Robbie had well and truly broken out after The Wolf Of Wall Street. After all, she’s already worked on Suite Francaise and Focus (with Will Smith) since then. Now, however, she’s even more in demand, entering talks to co-star in **Tarzan.
According to The Wrap, she’s hammering out a deal to play Jane opposite Alexander Skarsgard’s titular loin-clothed one in the new adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ adventure yarn. Harry Potter veteran David Yates is directing the film, with Christoph Waltz and Samuel L. Jackson also attached.
Jane, of course, is the woman that Tarzan falls for, though from the sounds of the new film, the pair may already be together when the story starts, as the rumoured plot finds the jungle hero tasked by Queen Victoria to investigate dodgy dealings around a mine.
In related Robbie news, she’s also set to star in post-apocalyptic drama Z For Zachariah. The film, which Nissar Modi adapted from Robert O’Brien’s book, has been developing since at least 2012, when Tobey Maguire agreed to produce and star. O’Brien’s book paints the bleak picture of a world in the grip of a nuclear nightmare. War has left most of the planet uninhabitable, with pockets of clean air carefully guarded. In one such valley, a young woman (Robbie) maintains a farm alone, and is disturbed when a stranger arrives. He reveals himself to be a scientist, who has been weakened by a contaminated stream. Though our heroine helps to nurse him back to health, she also discovers his dark past and dangerous ambitions.
Zachariah has faced scheduling delays and cast changes – it now appears that Maguire will simply produce, with Chris Pine and Chiwetel Ejiofor taking the other main roles. Ejiofor’s awards schedule is partly the reason the movie has been pushed back to shoot this year after originally planning to film in August 2013. Amanda Seyfried had been on board to star, but dropped out due to the time shift, with Robbie taking her place. Compliance director Craig Zobel will put Zachariah before cameras first, with Yates' Tarzan following soon after.