Tarzan gay kiss between Alexander Skarsgard and Christoph Waltz removed for being 'too clever'
Director David Yates said the scene 'perplexed' early test audiences
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A gay kiss between lead actors Christoph Waltz and Alexander Skarsgard was removed from The Legend of Tarzan for being “too clever”.
Director David Yates originally had Waltz’s evil Captain Leon Rom go in for a snog while Skarsgard’s six-packed Tarzan lies unconscious, but edited it out after test audiences were left “perplexed”.
“We pared it back because it was almost too much,” he told The Times. “It was this really odd, odd moment when Christoph kisses him. We loved it at the time, but early test audiences were perplexed by it and in the end it just felt too clever and overworked.”
The kiss originally came shortly before Rom tells Margot Robbie’s Jane that her husband’s wildness “disturbs me more than I can even express”.
Certain raunchy sex scenes between Tarzan and Jane were also tamed down to leave a more “muted and sensual” cut that “touches upon those primal desires” without being too risque.
The Legend of Tarzan is currently screening in cinemas nationwide after receiving largely poor reviews from film critics.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments