JOHN CARTER Director Andrew Stanton Says He Wouldn’t Change a Thing and Thinks The Story Should Be a Streaming Series

Back in 2012, John Carter landed in theaters with massive ambition and an even bigger price tag. What followed was one of the most talked-about box office disappointments in modern blockbuster history.

But more than a decade later, director Andrew Stanton is still proud of the movie and even believes its future might lie in a completely different format.

During a recent Reddit AMA, a fan told Stanton it was “heartbreaking” the film never got a sequel and asked what went wrong at the box office. Stanton didn’t dodge the question or distance himself from the project.

Instead, he doubled down with pure enthusiasm, saying, "God bless you all for the John Carter love! I loved every second of making that movie. I would not change anything about it. I do think it would be a good franchise for a streaming series."

That’s a pretty interesting take considering how the film’s theatrical run played out.

Based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ 1912 novel A Princess of Mars, John Carter follows a Civil War veteran who finds himself mysteriously transported to Mars, where he’s pulled into a sprawling war between alien civilizations.

The movie starred Taylor Kitsch as John Carter, alongside Willem Dafoe and Lynn Collins, and leaned hard into epic sci-fi fantasy territory.

The film’s scope was huge. So was the budget. Reports placed production costs north of $350 million, and while the movie pulled in $284.1 million worldwide, it still resulted in a major financial hit for Disney. It quickly earned a reputation as one of Hollywood’s biggest box office flops.

Critically, the reception was split. The film currently holds a 52% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Reviewers praised the visuals and scale but criticized uneven pacing and a story that some audiences found hard to track.

At the same time, the film faced serious competition during its release window. Mirror Mirror, The Woman in Black, 21 Jump Street, The Hunger Games, and Wrath of the Titans all hit theaters within weeks of each other. That’s a crowded battlefield for any big-budget sci-fi adventure.

Marketing also took its share of blame. Many fans felt Disney didn’t quite sell audiences on what the movie actually was calling the film John Carter was its biggest mistake.

Personally, I’ve always thought John Carter was underrated. I liked the movie! The marketing didn’t do it any favors, but the movie itself delivered a solid old-school pulp sci-fi adventure. I rewatched it recently, and it still holds up. There’s really nothing wrong with the script or story.

As for Stanton’s idea about turning it into a streaming series, that actually makes a lot of sense. The world-building in Burroughs’ Barsoom stories is expansive. There are multiple cultures, creatures, and political conflicts that could easily sustain several seasons.

A streaming format would allow the narrative room to breathe instead of trying to compress everything into a single two-hour epic.

There are still other fans out there defending the film, too. As one Reddit user wrote, "The reaction to John Carter was brutal. I like the film," while another added, "I thought it was so imaginative, it has wonderful visuals, excellent acting, beautiful set pieces. Just an awesome space journey."

With John Carter currently streaming on Disney+, it’s easier than ever for audiences to rediscover it. And in today’s streaming-first entertainment landscape, Stanton’s idea doesn’t sound far-fetched at all. A serialized return to Barsoom could give this sci-fi property the second chance it never got on the big screen.

Sometimes a movie just arrives at the wrong time. Maybe John Carter’s story isn’t over. It might just need a different medium to thrive in.