Greystoke: Tarzan of the Apes

Greystoke: Tarzan of the Apes is a 2016 American ten part miniseries based on the novel Tarzan of the Apes written by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It aired from January 2nd to March 6th 2016. It is the second installment in HBO's Burroughs Trilogy, it was preceded by Edgar Rice Burroughs' At the Earth's Core and was followed by John Carter and the Princess of Mars.

Plot
In 1886, Lord John Greystoke and his wife Alice are on their way to Africa, when the crew of their ships mutinies against their captain. They are abandoned along the West coast where Alice gives birth to a baby boy, however they both succumb to a combination of disease and dangerous animals. The child survives and is raised by by the gentle female ape, Kala.

The child grows into a man, whilst learning the laws of the jungle and takes the name Tarzan. Later an expedition comes to the jungle and with them Jane Porter, the first white woman Tarzan ever sees. They soon fall in love with each other, however they are soon forced a part when Tarzan is forced to rescue

Humans

 * Nicolas Hoult as Tarzan - The main protagonist who was orphaned as a child and raised by a tribe of apes. He grew up learning the laws of the jungle and its inhabitants, eventually becomes the Lord of the Apes. He was orphaned after his parents died from the African jungle, he was then adopted by the gentle female ape Kala. He grew up among the Mangani and learned the ways of the jungle, becoming the Lord of the Apes. When he grew he met and fell in love with the beautiful American, Jane Porter.
 * TBA as Infant Tarzan -
 * TBA as Tarzan aged 5 -
 * Jack Champion as Tarzan aged 12 -
 * Ivana Baquero as Jane Porter - A beautiful young woman from Baltimore, Maryland and the love interest of Tarzan. She came to Africa with her father as a part of a treasure seeking expedition, during which she met Tarzan. Whilst spending time with him, she fell deeply in love with Tarzan. However Jane was uncertain whether her and Tarzan's love could be possible due to his upbringing in the jungle.
 * Daniel Radcliff as Cecil Clayton - The cousin of Tarzan and current Lord of Greystoke after the death of his father. He joined Archimedes expedition in an attempt to find his aunt and uncle after they had disappeared over twenty years earlier, during which he fell in love with Jane. After arriving in Africa, Cecil meets Tarzan who unbeknownst to him is his cousin and the true Lord of Greystoke. However due to mistaking the remains of Kala's baby for his deceased cousin, Cecil refuses to accept the possibility that Tarzan is his cousin.
 * Ian McShane as Archimedes Q. Porter - The father of Jane Porter and a respected professor from Baltimore, Maryland. He was forced to borrow money from Robert Canler after he fell into financial difficulty, Archimedes was then informed that if he didn't pay Canler back, then Jane would have to marry him to absolve him of the debt. Archimedes was told that if could find the treasure buried along the West African coast, then his debt would be absolved and Jane would have to marry Canler.
 * Guillaume Canet as Paul D'Arnot - A French navy lieutenant who becomes a good friend to Tarzan. He arrived in West Africa to look for the Porter expedition after locating their stranded ship, the Arrow. However he was caught by the tribe of Mbonga who planned to kill and eat him, however he was rescued by Tarzan who drove a herd of Elephants through the village. Whilst being helped to recover, he and Tarzan built up a friendship with D'Arnot teaching him French.
 * Jeremy Irons as Samuel T. Philander - The assistant to Archimedes and his good friend.
 * Shaine Jones as Robert Canler - A ruthless mobster whom Archimedes owes money to. He told Archimedes that if found the treasure hidden along the West African coast, then his debt to him would be absolved, but if he didn't then Jane would have to marry him in order for Archimedes to be absolved of the debt.
 * Hayden Christensen as Lord John Greystoke - The birth father of Tarzan and the husband of Lady Alice. He and Alice were marooned along the West African coast after the crew on their ship, the Fuwalda mutinied against their abusive captain. After being abandoned, John built a treehouse for them to live in and where Alice gave birth to their son.
 * Rachel Bilson as Lady Alice Greystoke - The birth mother of Tarzan and the wife of Lord John. In 1886, she and John were on their way to West Africa when the crew on their ship, the Fuwalda mutinied against their abusive captain. Shortly after building a treehouse, John was attacked by a large ape which Alice then shot, however this caused to go into shock which she never recovered from. Sadly, year after Tarzan's birth, Alice caught a fever and died.
 * Forest Whitaker as Mbonga - The chief of a tribe of cannibals and the father of Kulonga. He lead his tribe to the Managani to escape the forces of King Leopold after his tribe had killed a Belgium army officer and a few black troops.
 * Jessie T. Usher as Kulonga - The son of Mbonga who killed Kala and was killed by Tarzan in revenge. After his tribe arrived in the Mangani's part of the jungle after escaping from Belgium soldiers, Kulonga went out to hunt for his people, whilst in the jungle he came across
 * TBA as Colonel Henry Williamson - A ruthless United States army colonel who becomes the main antagonist of the last four episodes of Greystoke.
 * Graham Greene as Chief Dancing Bear - The chief of the Wapiti Native American tribe who becomes a friend to Tarzan. He is shown to try and keep the peace between his people and the United States Army, however he often fails due to his son Eagle Wings anger and recklessness and Colonel Henry's bigotry.
 * TBA as Eagle Wing - The headstrong son of Chief Dancing Bear. He is angry at the treatment that his people suffer at the hands of the United States
 * Amber Midthunder as White Doe - The daughter of Chief Dancing Bear.
 * Martin Freeman as Edgar Rice Burroughs - A famed American author who wrote the Barsoom and Pellucidar books. He was seeking inspiration for his next novel when he was contacted by Archimedes Q. Porter who meet with him in a library in Chicago where he was told the story about Tarzan.

Mangani

 * Andy Serkis as Kerchak - The savage king of the Mangani and the main antagonist of the first two episodes. When Tarzan was a baby, he caused the death of Kala's own child and then later killed Lord John when the Mangani visited the Greystoke's treehouse.
 * Judy Greer as Kala - The mate of Tublat, the mother of Gazan and the adoptive mother of Tarzan. After the death of her baby following one of Kerchak's rages, Kala found Tarzan in his parents treehouse, she adopted and raised him as if he was her own.
 * Tobey Kebbell as Tublat - The mate of Kala, the father of Gazan and the adoptive father of Tarzan. Unlike Kala and Gazan, he despises Tarzan due to his hairless appearance, considering him to be weak. Years later, during the rite of Dum-Dum, he attempted to steal a piece of meat which Tarzan had, only to be stopped by Kala and Gazan. This caused Tublat to finally snap and attempted to kill Kala and Gazan for their defiance, however Tarzan saved them by stabbing him to death.
 * Nick Thurson as Terkoz - The son of Kerchak and a rival to Tarzan. After his father was killed by Tarzan, Terkoz attempted to take control of the Mangani, however Tarzan defeated him and the rest of the Mangani cast him out of the tribe. He then attacked and dragged off Jane, however Tarzan fought and killed him.
 * Landon Liboiron as Gazan - The son of Kala and Tublat and the adoptive brother of Tarzan. He is a loyal and devoted older brother to Tarzan, often helping their mother to protect him from Tublat. When Tarzan left the jungle to be with Jane, he made Gazan the new leader of the Mangani.
 * Doc Shaw as Droopy Ears - A friend of Tarzan's during his childhood. One day whilst playing by the river, Sabor the lioness attacked them. Tarzan managed to escape by diving into the water, whilst Droopy Ears, being an ape and unable to swim, was tragically killed as a result.

African Animals

 * African Forest Elephant (Tantor) - Two Elephants appeared in the miniseries. One was an Elephant whom Tarzan befriended in his youth, the other was a dead individual that was being cut up in the French colonial town of St. Eustache.
 * African Leopard (Sheeta) - A leopard appeared in the second episode where it attacked Jane and Esmeralda in the Greystoke treehouse. Tarzan saved them by fighting and killing it.
 * African Lion (Sabor, Numa) - A lioness appeared in the first episode where it killed Tarzan’s friend Droopy Ears. A male lion appeared in the third episode where Tarzan fought and killed it as part of a wager for 10'000 francs.
 * African Rock Python (Histah) - One appeared in the third episode where it attacked Tarzan and Jane whilst they were skinny dipping, Tarzan then fought and killed it.
 * Black Rhinoceros (Buto) - A dead individual appeared in the third episode in the French colonial town of St. Eustache.
 * Great Apes (Mangangi) - The Mangani are the Great Apes who adopt Tarzan when he was an infant. They seem to resemble large chimpanzees.
 * Hippopotamus (Duro) - A small herd appeared in the first episode whilst Tarzan was swimming.
 * Mantled Guereza (Manu) - A small group appeared in the first episode, been chased by the Mangani that attacked Lord John.
 * Nile Crocodile (Gimla) - One appeared in the second episode. It attacked Cecil as he was out looking for Archimedes, he was walking through a swamp when he came upon it. Tarzan came to his aide and killed the crocodile by snapping its neck.
 * Plains Zebra (Pacco) - A herd appeared in the third episode been viewed by Tarzan. Another one appeared as a corpse in the colonial town of St. Eustache.
 * Western Lowland Gorilla (Bolgani) - One appeared in the first episode. A large male attacked Tarzan whilst he was visiting his deceased parent’s cabin, he managed to kill it after a brutal fight but not before it badly wounded him.

Locations

 * Equatorial West Africa -
 * Greystoke Treehouse -
 * St. Eustache -
 * United States -
 * Porter House -
 * Wapiti Native American Reservation -



Differences from the original novel
Whilst being the most faithful adaptation of the novel, there several changes to the story:
 * The novel was set in 1909, whilst the miniseries is set two years earlier in 1907.
 * John and Alice were marooned in Africa in 1888, in the miniseries they were marooned in 1886.
 * John and Alice live in a treehouse, in the novel they lived in a treehouse for a brief time before permanently settling in a cabin.
 * Jane's hair is brunette, whilst in the novel she was blonde.
 * The miniseries, Cecil was attacked by a large crocodile that was killed by Tarzan. In the novel he was attacked by a lion.
 * The second half of the miniseries features Tarzan heading to the American Southwest to find work so that he could return to Africa. During which, he becomes involved in the tensions between the Wapiti Native American tribe and the US army. This was invented for the miniseries and never occurred in the novel.

Trivia

 * This is the second time that John Scott has composed music for Tarzan. The first time was for the 1984 film, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes.
 * The miniseries was filmed in Korup National Park, the film, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes was also filmed there.
 * The screenplay for the miniseries was written by Robert Towe, who also did the screenplay for Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes.

Episode 1

 * Tarzan is shown nude from his childhood to early teens, his buttocks is seen briefly. This is portrayed as innocence only.
 * Several African tribal women are seen topless, this is for tribal purposes only.

Episode 2

 * Jane is seen stripping naked and changing into her nightdress. Her bare buttocks are seen.

Episode 3

 * Tarzan rips Jane's clothes off as he throws her in a river. He then dives in after her and they go swimming together. Her breasts and buttocks are seen.

Episode 5

 * Tarzan sneaks into Jane's room naked, his buttocks is seen. He then drops her dress, leaving her completely naked, her breasts and buttocks are seen. He then carries her over to her bed where they make love.

Episode 1

 * A baby ape falls onto a rock.
 * A chimpanzee tears out a man's throat, blood is seen.
 * A young chimpanzee is killed by a lioness.
 * Tarzan fights and kills an African tribal warrior by stabbing him to death.

Episode 2

 * A man has a spear thrown through his shoulder.

Episode 3

 * The crew of a stranded ship have committed cannibalism.
 * Tarzan and Jane are attacked by an African Rock Python. Tarzan kills it by stabbing it to death. Blood is seen gushing from its wounds.

Episode 1

 * A sailor calls Lady Alice a "fucking bitch".

Episode 1

 * The attack by the lioness occurs quite suddenly.

Episode 3

 * The scenes of cannibalism can be pretty disturbing.