Andrew Stanton Reveals The ‘John Carter’ Sequels That Never Were
Any way you slice it,John Carterwas a big fat flop. Which means our chances of ever getting a sequel are essentially zero. But there was a time when Disney was hoping the film would launch a full-fledged franchise. And now, thanks to directorAndrew Stanton, we have some idea of where it might have gone. Hit the jump to see what he’s revealed.
The Gods of MarsandThe Warlord of Marsare the titles of books 2 and 3 ofEdgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series. Stanton’sJohn Carterwas based on Book 1,A Princess of Mars. While we don’t know how, exactly, Stanton’s versions of those stories would’ve differed, it’s probably reasonable to guess he would’ve followed some of the same plot points.Burroughs’The Gods of Marsfollows John Carter as he tangles with self-proclaimed deities.The Warlord of Marspicks up shortly afterward, as John Carter does battle to rescue his beloved Dejah Thoris. The series consists of 11 novels in total, so Stanton would’ve had plenty of material to work with, if only that firstJohn Carterhad taken off.
For what it’s worth,Taylor Kitsch, who playedJohn Carter’s titular hero, had nothing to but great things to say about the would-be sequel. He toldVarietylast month:
I know the second script was f***ing awesome. We had to plant a grounding, so we could really take off in the second one. The second one was even more emotionally taxing, which was awesome.
All of which makes it even more disappointing that we’ll never get to see these movies come to life. Instead, Disney will be taking off into outer space next year witha different sci-fi franchise— one that’s pretty much guaranteed to blowJohn Carterout of the water, at least in terms of box office dollars.
Meanwhile, Stanton’s next directorial effort will be a different Disney sequel:Finding Dory, the follow-up to Stanton’s 2003 animated featureFinding Nemo. That one is due outJune 17, 2016.
