Director says kiss between Alexander Skarsgård and Christoph Waltz in The Legend of Tarzan was ‘almost too much’ and perplexed test audiences

A gay kiss between the two male stars was cut from The Legend of Tarzan because, according to its director, “test audiences were perplexed by it”.

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Speaking to the Times, Tarzan director David Yates said that, as part of an effort not to “[fall] into the trap of what Tarzan represented to some people”, he shot a scene involving a kiss between Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgård) and ruthless Belgian soldier Rom (played by Christoph Waltz). According to Yates, the kiss takes place when Tarzan is unconscious, as Rom finds himself attracted to Tarzan’s “wildness”.

“We pared it back because it was almost too much,” Yates said. “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 scene was edited out of the film’s final version.

The revelation comes at a time when Star Trek actor George Takei has expressed unhappiness that the character of Sulu, who he played in the original series, has been revealed as gay in Star Trek Beyond, the newest film in the franchise. Simon Pegg, the co-writer of the film, defended the film saying: “We could have introduced a new gay character, but he or she would have been primarily defined by their sexuality, seen as the ‘gay character’, rather than simply for who they are.”