Mars’ John Carter and the Barsoom series are ripe with possibilities for further film adaptations, with countless exciting moments in the books that still remain hidden from mainstream audiences today. The legendary Edgar Rice Burroughs, also known for creating the jungle-dwelling Tarzan, is perhaps best known for the Barsoom series, which depicts the many adventures of human soldier John Carter and his companions in their vision of Mars. Throughout the 11 John Carter and Barsoom books, many incredible scenes unfold that would look amazing on the big screen.
The only modern attempt to bring Edgar Rice Burroughs’ legendary series to life on film has been Disney’s rarely seen space opera. John Carter. John Carter became one of the biggest box office failures of all time, a total disaster for Disney due to the expense of the fantastic science fiction setting and the critical attacks to which the film was subjected. The film’s failure means that many amazing moments from Edgar Rice Burroughs’ books may never be realized in a big-budget movie, despite how full of possibilities they may be.
8 The titular chess match
The chess pieces of Mars
The chess pieces of Mars It represents one of the only times Edgar Rice Burroughs went so far as to name an entire book after a single exciting sequence. The Barsoom series entry features some of Burroughs’ creepiest and most fantastical ideas yet, including a race of modular symbiotic creatures that form a humanoid together, with crab-like creatures sitting atop headless bodies as mounts. Instead of taking place from John Carter’s point of view, The chess pieces of Mars focuses on John’s daughter, Tara of Helium, and her love interest, Gahan.
At the end of the book, Gahan is forced to participate in one of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ most creative endings yet, playing a human-scale game of chess against the book’s villain for custody of his beloved. But this is not just any chess game, since it takes place in a huge arena with live warriors representing the pieces that have to fight to the death with each other for control of a space. The scene not only demonstrates Gahan’s ingenuity rather than just his physical strength, but also establishes his people’s rebellion against the subjugation of the Manatorians.
7 Vor Daj becomes a monster
The synthetic men from Mars
Edgar Rice Burroughs played legacy leads to replace John Carter long before Gahan became a point-of-view character, with The synthetic men from Mars presenting another example worth mentioning. This time, John Carter’s companion, Vor Daj, is actually the perspective character, accompanying John on a daring adventure in which they search for the mad scientist Ras Thavas, who returns from The mastermind of Mars. However, upon laying his hands on Vor Daj, Ras Thavas uses his twisted surgery to transform Daj’s brain into a hideous, monstrous body.
Vor Daj’s new deformed body presents all sorts of intriguing ideas, from having to protect his original body from harm to navigating the absurdity of Ras Thavas’ laboratory, searching for a way to overcome the insatiable hunger of his latest terrifying creation, a growing mass. of meat that seems determined to consume the entire planet. Even more entertaining are the difficulties his terrifying new way of pursuing his love interest presents, adding a new layer to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ typical romantic squabbles. It would be great to see this particular book adapted into a new movie.
6 John Carter and a legion of rats fight a giant Kaiju
John Carter from Mars
Not to be confused with the alternate title of the Disney film, John Carter from Mars represents the last book in the main Barsoom series. Written by Edgar Rice Burroughs’ son, John Coleman Burroughs, the installment is often criticized as obviously the worst book in the franchise, with John seemingly unable to capture his father’s prose in a book that is, itself, a vague anthology of unconnected Tales of Barsoom. However, even at such a low point in the franchise, there are endearingly strange action scenes that would work incredibly well as a scene from a live-action movie.
In one of the stories, John Carter and the giant from MarsDejah Thoris is kidnapped once again, this time by the mysterious villain Pew Mogel, who ends up building one of the most unique Martian threats in the series, a massive kaiju-like giant. It seems that such a muscular beast might be impossible for even John Carter to defeat, but the ever-resourceful John finds an army to help him: a pack of Maritan rats who descend on the giant by parachute to chew him up. New ideas for a Barsoom film are worth exploring on their own.
5 The Revelation of the Valley of Dor
gods of mars
gods of mars I was on the lookout for one of the Barsoom books that Disney would soon adapt in John CarterThe canceled sequels. Widely considered the best of the series, it’s easy to see why Disney would be eager to use elements of gods of mars for the next delivery of the original John Carter trilogy if the first film had been successful. This book features John Carter returning to Mars a second time and ending up in the fabled Valley of Dor, the mythical paradise location mentioned several times throughout the original novel.
Many of Barsoom’s residents are described as seeking this valley at the end of their lives, hoping to die in such a splendid place. To John’s horror, the Valley of Dor is revealed to be not an idyllic, hidden land of plenty, but a depraved cavern of nightmares. These include hideous plant men, ferocious white apes, and chalky-skinned white Martians who feed on the flesh of those who make the journey to the valley, maintaining their false reputation. This shocking revelation would be a surprising turn to appear in a John Carter movie.
4 John Carter’s triumphant speech
The Warlord of Mars
Another book from the original. John Carter Trilogy prepared for adaptation after the original pulp novel, the book of three sequels. The Warlord of Mars It concludes John Carter’s initial adventures with a surprising play on words. Of course, most Barsoom novels are based on action and adventure, and the strange alien beings, fast-paced fight scenes, and forgotten ancient cities on Mars make up most of the series’ appeal. But every once in a while, Edgar Rice Burroughs showed that his skill with dialogue could be just as captivating.
The Warlord of Mars is perhaps the most civilized of Burroughs’ books, describing how John Carter is able to restructure the hierarchy of Martian power with himself at the top after the disastrous struggle of the multiple races of Barsoom. In an impressive speech, John Carter impresses upon the people of Mars how the harmony of multiple Martian races is his life’s work. His words are powerful and awe-inspiring, but also strangely sweet, explaining how uniting the many species that inhabit the planet is his way of paying it forward for coming face to face with his beloved, Dejah Thoris.
3 Paxton forms a team
The brain of Mars
As time passed, the Barsoom novels continued to expand their list of heroes, with The brain of Mars bringing a new earthling into the fold. Captain Ulysses Paxton takes on the role of the point of view character and becomes the assistant of Ras Thavas, a recurring villain who is introduced here for the first time as the titular mastermind. Paxton soon sets out on a mission that contradicts his employer, hoping to reunite his love interest, Valla Dia, with her original body, which was stolen from her for use by an aging and greedy royal.
To achieve his goals, Paxton assembles a strange team of misfits from the dregs of Ras Thavas’ laboratory. His new friends include an infamous murderer, an intensely devout religious fanatic with a vendetta, and, most notable of all, a wild white ape who has been grafted with half a human male’s brain, giving him a certain degree of of intelligence. This eclectic cast of characters rivals the list of guardians of the galaxy in its uniqueness, and it would be incredible to see it realized on film in a post-James Gunn cinematic landscape.
2 Tan falls in love with Tavia
A fighter from Mars
Romance has always been an integral aspect of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ books, but it was always presented in a relatively simplistic way. Burroughs was a big fan of love at first sight, and many of his characters instantly fell in love with the person they would end up with (or at least, become obsessed with) in the final chapter of his books. It’s much more refreshing when one of your romances comes more naturally and A fighter from Mars It contains a love story that is worth adapting to film.
The first book to have a truly Martian protagonist sees Tan Hadron, a Martian from a poor family, attempt to rescue the daughter of a kidnapped general to get her hand in marriage. However, along the way, Tan ends up developing feelings for the slave, Tavia, who he has to work alongside after his plane crashes. This more organic approach to romance is a breath of fresh air in the Barsoom series, and would be the best Martian couple to see realize their feelings for each other in live action.
1 John plays with a villain until he can escape
Gathol Trowel
If there was a new John Carter film, there is almost zero chance of such a risk being pulled off being an anthology film, limiting which of the books future stories could be adapted from. Gathol Trowel is another collection of shorter stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs set in the myth of Barsoom, which apparently makes it poorly suited for a film adaptation. However, one of the stories, The invisible men of Mars, features one of the best sword fights with John Carter in the entire series, making it worthy of at least a look for the filmmakers.
Here, John Carter finds himself in a terrible scenario, forced to duel the villain Motus while trapped in an enemy city. Fortunately, you can take an invisibility pill that will allow you to escape, but the pill needs time to work its magic. Carter’s sword skills are so good that he is able to toy with Motus long enough for the pill to turn him invisible, killing him precisely at the right moment before escaping the city with his newfound stealth. Such a spectacular and well-written sequence absolutely deserves to appear in a new John Carter film.