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John Carter of Mars, Edgar Rice Burroughs's classic pulp Science Fantasy hero, is getting a new animated series to be unveiled at SDCC 2025.
Posted in: TV | Tagged: john carter of mars, sdcc
John Carter of Mars Animated Series Sets Official SDCC Announcement
John Carter of Mars, Edgar Rice Burroughs's classic pulp Science Fantasy hero, is getting a new animated series to be unveiled at SDCC 2025.
The classic but slightly forgotten (except to hardcore pulp adventure fans) Edgar Rice Burroughs sci-fi novel series, John Carter of Mars, will be getting a new animated series developed by the author's estate and showrunner Michael Kogge. The Wrap exclusively reported that the project will be unveiled this Friday at a Burroughs-themed panel at San Diego Comic-Con. The character was originally introduced in 1911 and was a prototype of almost every pulp and comics adventure hero that came after him, including Flash Gordon, Superman, Conan the Barbarian, Star Wars, and James Cameron's Avatar. If you look up John Carter's origin before he even made it to Mars, you'll discover he's really, really weird – he has no memories of childhood or his past and is immortal, for no other reason other than "BECAUSE!"
The series traces its roots back to 1912 with the pulp serial "Under the Moons of Mars" published by the magazine The All-Story and later as a novel titled "A Princess of Mars." The series followed Civil War veteran John Carter (already immortal and unkillable and nobody knew why) as he is transported to Mars — called Barsoom by its inhabitants — and becomes a warrior who wages battles against beasts and aliens. The last major adaptation was Disney Studios' 2012 blockbuster movie A Princess of Mars, directed by Andrew Stanton, but bombed at the box office with mixed reviews and a huge production budget. Shortly after that, Disney acquired Lucasfilm and the Star Wars franchise library.
Several attempts had been made to adapt Burroughs' "John Carter" novels, including by Burroughs' own son, John Coleman Burroughs, who worked with famed Looney Tunes animator Bob Clampett to develop a test reel to present to MGM for a series of nine-minute animated shorts that would appear as opening features at movie theaters in the 1940s. But MGM turned down the pitch, and the series was never developed. This makes the new John Carter of Mars series the first animated adaptation of the novels, something that Michael Kogge believes will be embraced given the interest in action-packed animation on streaming in recent years.
"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," he said in a statement. This suggests they're hoping for interest from a major streaming platform like Netflix.
Kogge is well-versed in all things "John Carter," having written an audio drama series based on Burroughs' novels that is currently being recorded with a cast that includes Sean Patrick Flannery, Bruce Boxleitner and Star Wars vet Ian McDiarmid. He will be joined on the animated project by Jim Sullos and Wolf Larson, who will oversee it for Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.
"The explosive rise of action-adventure animation has captivated audiences around the world, making it the perfect moment to launch our John Carter animated series. This marks a new era in storytelling for the Edgar Rice Burroughs universe and we're excited that Michael Kogge will help bring Mars to life," said Sullos.
It should be interesting to see which animation studio they've engaged to produce the new John Carter of Mars. How good it looks might have a big impact on how much interest the series will attract.
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