AICN’ s Quint [via /Film] is at The Santa Barbara Film Festival where director Andrew Stanton (Wall-E) had some more to say about his upcoming film John Carter of Mars:
- Yes, his John Carter will be a Civil War soldier. No fanbase-rattling updates into the modern day here. Presumably still a Johnny Reb – but that wasn’t confirmed and political sensitivity may just curb this.
- He hasn’t got the same kind of development and pre-production time for this film that he’d be afforded on a Pixar production, but he has been a fan since he was a kid and has therefore had plenty of ideas percolating for decades. I could say the same about a few books myself and, actually, there are definitely a few key scenes from literature that I’ve planned, filmed and edited in my imagination over and over, so I know exactly where he’s coming from.
- Not wanting his film to look or feel like Star Wars or any of it’s derivatives, Stanton is taking on a more naturalistic aesthetic here. He said that the film would be akin to what we’d see should a National Geographic stumble across a long lost civilisation in a cave – not unlike some of what Peter Jackson said about his Lord of the Rings films, in fact. More evidence that Rings is now a key genre paradigm just how Star Wars was for so long.
- The second draft of the script is now complete.
- Stanton doesn’t want to shoot in 3D, though he feels Disney may try to push him in that direction.
The plot of John Carter of Mars follows Civil War vet John Carter who is transplanted to Mars. He discovers a lush, wildly diverse planet whose main inhabitants are 12-foot tall green barbarians. Finding himself a prisoner of these creatures, he escapes, only to encounter Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, who is in desperate need of a savior.
The story sounds great and with Stanton as the director I have no doubts. I just really have no idea what to expect. I can’t wait to get more info.
What do you think of John Carter of Mars?