A film built around daring battles and ominous extraterrestrials may surprise fans of Andrew Stanton, the filmmaker behind Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and Wall-E. Yet his talent for storytelling shines through once again. JOHN CARTER, adapted from Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Barsoom novels, emerges as a Disney science fiction spectacle that leaves a strong impression with its visual ambition and narrative heft.
The film follows John Carter, a Civil War veteran portrayed by Taylor Kitsch, who awakens in a strange Martian world called Barsoom after a fatal encounter. The realm is torn by war among rival factions of advanced beings and human-like natives. Scarcity of water and a thinning atmosphere intensify the tensions, fueling public unrest. In Barsoom, Carter encounters Dejah Thoris, the Princess of Helium, played by Lynn Collins, and learns that a fated role awaits him in the struggle to decide Barsoom’s future. As a seasoned fighter, he steps forward to join the battle as a reluctant, capable hero.
The film pairs cutting-edge 3D technology with kinetic action scenes, turning the adventure into a visually immersive experience. Stanton’s approach brings a sense of old-fashioned epic storytelling to the modern cinematic landscape, offering a different flavor within science fiction that emphasizes scale, character moments, and practical effects.
Five Things You Probably Didn’t Know About JOHN CARTER
One surprising detail is that the project began with Paramount Pictures as the potential home for its release. That early alignment influenced early design choices, casting discussions, and the pace of development, before Disney reoriented the project into its own slate and brought Barsoom to life under its banner.
The source novels date back more than a century, with the first JOHN CARTER book appearing around 1912, making Barsoom one of the earliest space operas in literature.
During production in Utah, the crew uncovered a fossil of a long-necked dinosaur, a vivid reminder of the real world’s connection to Barsoom’s rugged landscapes.
Crafting a Martian language was a careful process, with linguists and writers creating words and syntax to define Barsoomian cultures and lend authenticity to the dialogue.
For a large battle sequence, the production enlisted a thousand extras with darker makeup to convey the diverse populations depicted in Barsoom, a decision that added to the film’s visual scale.