Does Tarzan swing both ways? Gay kiss involving the jungle hero is cut from final edit of new film 

With his rippling muscles and flowing mane of hair, Tarzan is undoubtedly king of the jungle. But with the release of a new blockbuster, the question has arisen whether he swings both ways, the Daily Mail reports.

While adaptations of the classic story in the past have focussed on Tarzan’s relationship with heroine Jane, the new film includes a character named Captain Leon Rom, both a soldier and, allegedly, a love interest.

Part of the film, The Legend of Tarzan, even included a gay kiss between Tarzan and Captain Rom, although the passionate moment was cut from the final edit.

The film’s director, David Yates, accepted that Alexander Skarsgård and Christoph Waltz, who play Tarzan and Captain Rom respectively, exhibited homoerotic undertones throughout the film.

Yates told the Times: ‘We pared it back because it was almost too much. 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 offending scene saw Captain Rom, sent by King Leopold of Belgium to take hold of the region, kiss Tarzan while he was unconscious.

Shortly after the captain tells Jane: ‘Your husband’s wildness disturbs me more than I can even express.’

In a previously unexplored twist, Tarzan opens the film as a member of the House of Lords. Pictured in Downing Street before he is sent to the Congo to help anti-slavery activist, George Washington Williams, played by Samuel L Jackson.

Tarzan’s wife Jane, played by Margot Robbie, also received more attention in Yates’ film and has been praised by critics in early reviews.

More assertive and independent a character than previous actresses’ portrayals of Jane, Australian Robbie’s performance marked a departure from Jane’s typical image as a damsel in distress.

While the gay kiss was not the only scene to be cut, physical moments between Tarzan and Jane were filmed ‘quite a lot’ and eventually had to be toned down.

Yates added: ‘I liked the idea that they could have great sex, and that it could get quite primal.

‘The cut we ended up with was more muted, and more sensual instead, even though we did touch upon those primal desires.’

It is not the first time that steamy romance has featured in a Tarzan film, with the 1981 adaptation Tarzan The Ape Man was described as ‘soft-core porn’ by an American critic.