John Carter’s New Trailer Shows A Different Side
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Disney has released a few trailers so far for John Carter, the upcoming film adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s series that follows the adventures of displaced Civil War soldier John Carter on Barsoom (Mars). The trailers have mostly focused on the epic, action-heavy aspects of the story and the lovely Barsoom princess John Carter encounters, although the Japanese trailer gave us a little insight into Carter’s backstory and how his adventures on the distant planet will be framed within the film.
The latest trailer, however, shows us quite a different John Carter…
This new footage is obviously trying to emphasize that the film will be “family friendly”, despite the action emphasis of previous trailers and teasers. The text and narration are kind of dorky and children’s story-like: John “is a long way from home”, makes “an unusual new friend”, and gains a “loyal companion”. That “loyal companion” is Woola, a doglike Martian creature called a calot that has been downplayed a bit in previous trailers.
In keeping with the “family adventure” tone of this new trailer, though, the floppy, slobbery creature is highlighted. Previous trailers also downplayed the humor that, apparently, will be part of the film. John Carter now gets sand thrown in his face, the Martians think his name is “Virginian” when he tries to say where’s he’s from, and he cracks wise. If you wondered what the tone of John Carter will be like, this trailer suggests it will follow in the footsteps of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise – quippy, action-y (but not disturbingly so), and “fun for the whole family”.
We finally get a better peak at the “fearless princess” of Barsoom. This new trailer still has a lot of shots of Lynn Collins as Dejah Thoris in her skimpy outfits being rescued or bewildered by John Carter, but we also get a glimpse of Dejah in action. She wears battle armor and seems to be a formidable foe, so hopefully we’ll get to see more of that in the final product.
