The only modern attempt to bring Edgar Rice Burroughs' legendary series to life in film has been Disney's seldom-seen space opera John Carter. John Carter went on to become one of the biggest box office flops of all time, a total disaster for Disney due to the expense of the fantastical science fiction setting and the critical lashing the film was subjected to. The film's failure means that many amazing moments in Edgar Rice Burroughs' books might never be realized in a big-budget film, despite how ripe with possibility they may be.

8 The Titular Chess Match

The Chessmen of Mars

The Chessmen of Mars represents one of the only times Edgar Rice Burroughs went as far as to name an entire book because of a single exciting sequence. The entry in the Barsoom series features some of Burroughs' most lurid and fantastical ideas yet, including a race of modular symbiotic creatures that form a humanoid together, with crab-like creatures sitting atop headless bodies like mounts.

Rather than taking place from John Carter's point of view, The Chessmen of Mars centers on John's daughter, Tara of Helium, and her love interest, Gahan. At the end of the book, Gahan is forced to engage in one of Edgar Rice Burroughs' most creative finales yet, playing a human-scale game of chess against the book's villain for custody of his beloved.

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But this is no ordinary game of chess, taking place on a massive arena with living warriors representing the pieces that have to actually fight one another to the death for control of a space. Not only does the scene demonstrate Gahan's wits rather than just his brawn, but it also sets up the revolt of his people from subjugation under the Manatorians.

7 Vor Daj Gets Turned Into A Monster

The Synthetic Men of Mars

Edgar Rice Burroughs played with legacy protagonists to replace John Carter long before Gahan became a point of view character, with The Synthetic Men of Mars featuring another noteworthy example. This time around, John Carter's sidekick Vor Daj is actually the perspective character, tagging along with John on a daring adventure that sees them seeking out the mad scientist Ras Thavas, who returns from The Master-Mind of Mars.

Upon getting his hands on Vor Daj, however, Ras Thavas uses his twisted surgery to swap Daj's brain into a horrific, monstrous body. Vor Daj's deformed new body presents all sorts of intriguing ideas, from him having to protect his original body from harm to navigating the absurdity of Ras Thavas' lab, searching for a way to defeat the insatiable hunger of his latest terrifying creation, a growing blob of flesh that seems bent on consuming the entire planet.

Even more entertaining is the difficulties his frightening new form presents in pursuing his love interest, adding a fresh layer to Edgar Rice Burroughs' typical romantic bickering. It would be genius to see this book in particular adapted into a new movie.

6 John Carter And A Legion Of Rats Fight A Giant Kaiju

John Carter of Mars

Not to be confused with the alternate title of the Disney movie, John Carter of Mars represents the last book in the mainline Barsoom series. Written by Edgar Rice Burroughs' son, John Coleman Burroughs, the installment is often lambasted as the obvious worst book in the franchise, with John seemingly unable to capture his father's prose in a book that is, in and of itself, a loose anthology of disconnected Barsoom tales.

Yet even at such a low point in the franchise, there are endearingly bizarre action setpieces that would do amazingly as a live-action movie scene. In one of the stories, John Carter and the Giant of Mars, Dejah Thoris is kidnapped yet again, this time by the mysterious villain Pew Mogel, who ends up constructing one of the most unique Martian threats in the series, a massive kaiju-like giant.

It seems like such a brawny 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 that descend on the giant in parachutes to chew through him. Such visuals alone are worth exploring new ideas for a Barsoom movie.

5 The Reveal Of The Valley of Dor

Gods of Mars

Gods of Mars was eyed for one of the Barsoom books next to be adapted by Disney in John Carter's canceled sequels. Widely-considered to be the best of the series, it's easy to see why Disney would be eager to use elements from Gods of Mars for the next installment of the original John Carter trilogy should the first film have been successful.

This book features John Carter returning to Mars for the second time, ending up in the fable Valley of Dor, the mythical paradise location mentioned several times throughout the original novel. Many of the residents of Barsoom are described as seeking out this Valley at the end of their lives, hoping to die in such a splendid place.

Much to John's horror, it's revealed that the Valley of Dor is no idyllic hidden land of plenty, but a depraved cavern of nightmares. These include horrific plant men, ferocious white apes, and the chalky-skinned white Martians who feast upon the flesh of those who make the journey to the valley, keeping up its false reputation. This gut-punch reveal would be a jaw-dropping twist to be featured in a John Carter movie.

4 John Carter’s Triumphant Speech

The Warlord of Mars

Another book of the original John Carter trilogy up for adaptation after the original pulp novel, the threequel book The Warlord of Mars concludes John Carter's initial adventures with some stunning wordplay. Granted, the majority of the Barsoom novels subsist off of action and adventure, with the strange alien beings, pulse-pounding fight scenes, and ancient forgotten cities of Mars making up the majority of the series' appeal.

But every now and then, Edgar Rice Burroughs would demonstrate his skill with dialogue could be just as captivating. The Warlord of Mars is perhaps the most civil of Burroughs' books, describing how John Carter is able to restructure the hierarchy of Martian power with himself at the top after the disastrous fighting of the multiple races of Barsoom.

In a stunning speech, John Carter impresses to the people of Mars how the harmony of multiple Martian races is his life's work. His words are powerful and commanding, but also oddly sweet, explaining how uniting the many species inhabiting the planet is his way of paying it back for bringing him face to face with his beloved, Dejah Thoris.

3 Paxton Puts Together A Team

The Mastermind of Mars

As time went on, the Barsoom novels continued to expand their roster of heroes, with The Mastermind of Mars bringing a new Earthling into the fold. Captain Ulysses Paxton takes over as the point of view character, becoming the assistant of Ras Thavas, a recurring villain who is introduced for the first time here 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 a greedy, aging royal. To accomplish his goals, Paxton puts together a bizarre team of misfits assembled from the dregs of Ras Thavas' laboratory.

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His new friends include an infamous assassin, an intensely-devoted religious fanatic with a vendetta, and most noteworthy of all, a feral white ape with half the brain of a human man grafted to him, giving him a degree of intelligence. This eclectic cast of characters rivals the roster of The Guardians of the Galaxy in its uniqueness, and would be incredible to see realized on film in a post-James Gunn cinematic landscape.

2 Tan Falls In Love With Tavia

A Fighting Man of Mars

Romance has always been an integral aspect of Edgar Rice Burroughs' books, but it always came in a relatively simplistic form. Burroughs was a big fan of love at first sight, with many of his characters becoming instantly smitten with the person they would end up with (or at the very least, obsess over) by the final chapter of his books.

It's that much more refreshing when one of his romances bubbles up more naturally, and A Fighting Man of Mars contains a love story worth adapting into film. The first book to have an actually Martian protagonist sees Tan Hadron, a Martian from a poor family, attempt to rescue a kidnapped general's daughter in order to win her hand in marriage.

However, along the way, Tan ends up developing feelings for the slave girl, Tavia, who he has to work together with after his flier crash-lands. 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 feeling for one another in live action.

1 John Toys With A Villain Until He Can Escape

Llana of Gathol

If there was a new John Carter movie, there's almost zero chance that such a risk could get away with being an anthology film, limiting which of the books future stories could adapt. Llana of Gathol is another collection of Edgar Rice Burroughs' shorter stories set within the Barsoom mythos, seemingly making it poorly suited for a feature adaptation.

However, one of the stories, The Invisible Men of Mars, features one of the greatest swordfights using John Carter in the entire series, making it worthy of at least a glance for filmmakers. Here, John Carter finds himself in a dire scenario, forced to duel the villainous Motus while trapped in an enemy city. Luckily, he's able to take an invisibility pill that'll allow him to escape, but the pill takes time to work its magic.

Carter's swordsmanship skills are so good that he can toy with Motus long enough for the pill to turn him invisible, killing him at precisely the right moment before escaping the city with his newfound stealth. Such a show-stopping and well-written sequence absolutely deserves to be featured in a new John Carter film.

Barsoom

Created by

Edgar Rice Burroughs

Latest Film

John Carter

Cast

Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, James Purefoy, Antonio Sabàto, Jr., Traci Lords, Matt Lasky

The Barsoom series is a science-fantasy franchise created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, set on a fictionalized version of Mars known as Barsoom. The series follows John Carter, a former Confederate soldier who is mysteriously transported to Mars, where he becomes a warrior and key figure in the planet's conflicts. The franchise, which began as a book series, has had limited film adaptations but remains influential in the science fiction and fantasy genres.

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