John Carter Animated Series in Works Despite Massive Disney Flop

A John Carter animated series is in the works despite the colossal box office failure of the 2012 Walt Disney Studios feature. Like the movie, the series will be an adaptation of American author Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom series (aka Martian series or John Carter of Mars series) of novels.

John Carter of Mars novel series to be adapted into new animated series

Burroughs’ estate and showrunner Michael Kogge unveiled the first sneak peek of the planned animated series on Friday at a Burroughs-themed panel at San Diego Comic-Con. Kogge said in a statement, “In this era of incredible animation, with shows like Castlevania, Blood of Zeus and Twilight of the Gods pushing the genre of fantasy action-adventure to new heights, there couldn’t be a better time for the Martian saga of John Carter and Princess Dejah Thoris to be told through bold, ground-breaking animation” (via TheWrap).

Burroughs was one of the pioneers of the sci-fi and fantasy genres, and his Barsoom novels have inspired generations of writers and filmmakers. The first book of the Barsoom series, A Princess of Mars, was initially serialized in the pulp magazine All-Story Magazine in 1912.

It introduced John Carter, a veteran of the American Civil War, who is transported to Barsoom / Mars and encounters romance, more wars, aliens, and strange beasts. Burroughs is widely known for writing the Tarzan books. Further, the 2012 movie is an adaptation of A Princess of Mars.

There are 11 books in the Barsoom series, with the last one, John Carter of Mars, being a collection of two stories. Accordingly, the show can potentially go on for a while. The filmmakers behind the 2012 feature had plans for sequels, but they were scrapped because of the movie’s failure. In October 2014, Burroughs’ estate regained the rights to the novels.

Kogge has worked on an audio series based on Burroughs’ novels, so he appears to be familiar with that world. He will collaborate on the animated project with Jim Sullos and Wolf Larson.

The John Carter animated series currently doesn’t have a release date or network associated with it.

Originally reported by Tamal Kundu on SuperHeroHype.