Kerry Conran's John Carter of Mars Test Footage

The threat of a John Carter film has been brewing for a long, long time.  But the one version of the film I really would have loved to have seen was Kerry Conran's version.  There doesn't seem to be much love for his Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, but I love that little retro sci-fi gem and I could have watched several movies set in that universe.  Well, Geek Tyrant pointed the way to the below link showcasing some test footage done up for the never-film.

Click Here to check it out.

Man, I'm not really so sure about the Wall-E Andrew Stanton Version we're going to get from Disney this year but I think I would much rather see what Conran would have done with this material.  I should quit with all this negative thinking and just hope for the best.  Seems to be working for Matt as far as this new John Carter is concerned.

--Brad

Kerry Conran's John Carter of Mars

First off, let me just say that I absolutely LOVE Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.  For me, it's the perfect blend of movie serial, classic adventure film, and retro-tech science fiction.  I love the story.  I love the look.  I love the various action scenes, and the crazy setting.  And after seeing it, I thought to myself, 'this Kerry Conran fella, he's going places.'  Seems I couldn't have been more wrong.  He was briefly attached to one of the many adaptations of Edgar Rice Burroughs' book A Princess of Mars (this time being called Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars).  And then rumored to be involved in a mysterious pulp adventure film (speculation was leaning toward The Shadow, The Phantom, or Doc Savage).  Then nothing.  Silence.  About six years of silence so far. 

What I didn't know was how much had been done for Paramount's John Carter film.  I didn't know that had actually started honest to goodness pre-production.  If you go to this link, look to the right, and select John Carter of Mars, you can see a really sweet demo reel.  I felt at the time that he was the perfect choice to direct, and was disappointed to find he'd left the project.  Here's hoping Conran hasn't made his last film.  Six years is a long time in Hollywood years, but it's not forever.  And I'd still love to see really good versions of any number of pulp properties, from Doc Savage to the Spider. 

-Matt