Tarzan swings into the metaverse with official NFT drop

The classic fictional character Tarzan swings from the African jungle into Web3 via a new multi-year license agreement between digital fashion studio XLABEL and the estate of the character’s original creator, Edgar Rice Burroughs.

No, Disney is not involved. And this Tarzan has a different feel to some previous portrayals – so you can see him in some surprising new settings.

Australia-based XLABEL and Ethereum NFT marketplace X2Y2 will launch a 9999 token Tarzan: Lord of the Apes NFT collection for 0.05 ETH (about $90) each on March 28 for people added to an approval list, with a public sale to follow on March 30 for the remaining supply at 0.06 ETH (about $110) each.

XLABEL also plans to integrate its digital Tarzan character into various third-party blockchain-powered metaverse games and platforms. Every version of the Tarzan character sold in Ethereum NFT form will be compatible with Unreal enginethe game development software developed by Epic Games that powers Fortnite and many other popular video games.

“As we move into the web3 world, it’s about saying: How can we draw on the legacy of 110 years of Tarzan in a really interesting way that will continue for the next 100 years?” XLABEL CEO Brad Morris told Decrypt. “He’ll be a game character in one case, a social media influencer in another, [or] he will be a runway model for certain partner brands. There are a whole bunch of different applications when you think about it [Tarzan] as a digital personality.”

A press release from XLABEL claims Tarzan is the first character published across book, stage, film and metaverse platforms. The character’s legacy was cemented through Burroughs’ original 1912 “Tarzan of the Apes” magazine series, followed by novels, early film adaptations, radio shows and more.

His modern popularity was renewed via Disney’s Tarzan animated film in 1999 and subsequent TV series. An XLABEL representative confirmed that Disney is not involved in this licensing agreement. XLABEL plans for Tarzan NFT owners to use the character across “multiple blockchain-based environments, including the potential for Tarzan’s own future jungle metaverse.”

“With Epic Games and Unreal, there are hundreds of games where Tarzan can be integrated,” Morris said. “In addition to that, there are a lot of blockchain games that we’re going to be partnering with. The games are pretty much gated experiences that let you step in like Tarzan.”

XLABEL’s in-house digital designers and pseudonymous digital artists Skeeva spent six months creating the modern Tarzan, drawing from Burroughs’ original portrayal of the character whose British parents were killed off the coast of Africa, leaving Tarzan to be raised by monkeys.

The chiseled Web3 version of Tarzan has varied facial expressionsand XLABEL plans to release digital fashion accessories such as monkey-inspired hat NFTs and other wearables for Tarzan.

The Tarzan of the Web3 era will have a cleaner look than the jungle-honed version the public is used to. Morris sought to create a personality that reflected the origins of John Clayton II (Tarzan’s real name) before the parents of British royalty made their fateful journey to Africa. From there, NFT holders will be able to give him new life across metaverse worlds.

“He’s going to be represented in all these wonderful new ways where we don’t always just see Tarzan with the wild hair and muddy face,” Morris said. “Imagine Tarzan brushing his hair and washing his face. Where will he go?”

XLABEL already has its own original NFT collection through GameStop’s marketplace. Nor is Tarzan the first iconic fictional character brought into Web3 by the startup, when it launched an NFT collection based on Betty Boop last year.