Hope everyone is having a nice weekend. I was just heading out to the pool to begin David Price’s The Pixar Touch, when I saw that writer/director Andrew Stanton (Wall-E, Finding Nemo) has confirmed via the Pixar Blog that he’s currently writing John Carter of Mars. Go figure. This isn’t surprising news, we’ve known since 2007 that Pixar is developing a trilogy of films based on the epic sci-fi fantasy material–the first of which is due before 2012–but Stanton’s confirmation drives it closer to reality. And that’s not only awesome but sort of miraculous for this project, innit. There was no clarification by Stanton on whether the film will be live-action (like Brad Bird’s 1906), animated or a secretive cocktail as rumored. I’m hoping for the former or the latter, what about you?
Here’s the Slashfilm plot synopsis: A Princess of Mars by Edward Rice Burroughs was first published in 1917. The movie will follow Civil War vet John Carter, who is transplanted to Mars, where he discovers a lush, wildly diverse planet whose main inhabitants are 12-foot tall green barbarians. Finding himself a prisoner of these creatures, he escapes, only to encounter Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, who is in desperate need of a savior.
As many of us know, John Carter of Mars has enjoyed one of the longest vacays in development hell in all of cinema history. Prior to Pixar/Disney’s involvement, Robert Rodriguez was most recently attached to direct for Paramount but that effort fizzled, somewhat infamously, due to his disagreements with the DGA. Looking at the Frank Frazetta artwork above and imagining similar high fantasy imagery shot through the Pixar prism makes my brain imitate Jiffy Pop. What happens once we all see Wall-E?
Discuss: Andrew Stanton’s John Carter of Mars, destined for…greatness?
June 7th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
I cant believe no one has commented.
This is amazing news.
I hope he directs, please please please.
Plus Hunter, if you live in Cali…the writer of the PIXAR touch will be at Barnes and Noble this coming Thursday to Q&A about it.
June 7th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
If it’s going to be “animated”.
It needs to look like Frank Frazetta’s art style or something similar. Unless they gay it up and make it look like plastic toys or like the 50’s style pop art used in The Incredibles.
It needs to push a more graphic look if they go for animation here.
June 7th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
I think I’d like to see the rumored secretive cocktail (any ideas what that might be?) just to see something new. Plus I wonder if the animated trilogy might get a little tired, but either way: in Pixar we trust.
June 8th, 2008 at 12:50 am
Edgar Rice Burroughs?? Tarzan cries silently….
June 8th, 2008 at 3:25 am
I hope their best , I believe that they will go for a mix of live/animation , they are very clever !!! they will do this in 3D stereo , it will come after after Cameron’s AVATAR and it will surf on the hype wave from this film,because as i know Avatar story is based somehow on john carter’s story!!!
I hope the best for andrew and great PIXAR….
I really love the visual aspect in Frazetta art and i hope ther revive this style by CGI animation….like the works of BLIZZARD (opening cinematics) but in a very grand and epic scale….
June 8th, 2008 at 10:03 am
will this be a “kids movie” a la other pixar movies, or more mature?
it would neat to see pixar do a more mature movie
June 13th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Read “A Princess of Mars” and the rest of the series for free at Books.Google.com
I did when I was a teen and they were excellent.