According to JimHillMedia.com, Pixar is mulling over the prospect of filming the first John Carter of Mars movie, projected as a trilogy, as a live action feature. This would be the first non-animated anything from the award-winning studio. My question is why?
No one makes animated movies like Pixar. Even their lesser films such as Bug’s Life and Cars offer more humanity and better crafted stories than the vast majority of live action movies currently in the cineplex. As demonstrated in The Incredibles, portraying people involved in science fictional concepts is certainly no problem. So why even consider the change?
From JimHill:
| Quote: |
| [S]tudio suits seem to be cooling to the idea of producing movie versions of all seven of C. S. Lewis’s “Narnia” books. [U]nless “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” does truly huge box office once it’s released to theaters in May of this year … Disney & Walden Media (i.e. Mickey’s partner on the “Narnia” film series) will probably still go forward with production of the already-in-development “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.” But after that … The Mouse would then mostly likely pull the plug on the rest of the proposed “Narnia” film series. |
That leaves a huge live action hole in the studio schedule starting in 2011.
So who would play a live action John Carter? When the idea of the movie was kicked around in the 80’s and early 90s, Kevin Costner’s name was batted around. While he was an excellent choice back then, at 53 he’s probably a bit long in the tooth now. (Course with the 65 year old Harrison Ford reprising his role as Indiana Jones and the 61 year old Stallone playing both Rocky and Rambo once again, I guess anything is possible.)
Ideally, John Carter should be a Southerner in his early 30s in excellent shape. It better not be Will Smith. While Smith is proving to be a better actor than I thought, John Carter is a SOLDIER FOR THE SOUTH during the CIVIL WAR. Not many black men doing that.
Both Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, depending on their abilities to use Southern accents, might be good. As might Mark Walberg. The film will be heavy on action.
Of course as we all know, the truly important role is Dejah Thoris, the Princess of Mars.
Apparently back in the 1970s, another live action version was attempted and even got to the design sketch stage. Sadly, it was never filmed.
Live action John Carter? was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon