[Disney Speculation] - 1980s John Carter of Mars

So, fun fact. Back in the 1980s, Disney bought the rights to John Carter of Mars to compete with Conan the Barbarian and Star Wars. In fact, Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio were hired to write, while John McTiernan was approached to direct and Tom Cruise was offered the star role of John Carter. Supposedly, the project collapsed because McTiernan realized that visual effects were not yet advanced enough to recreate Burroughs' vision of Barsoom.

But suppose that Disney doesn't take no for an answer despite McTiernan pulling out (and maybe taking Tom Cruise with him), and decides to make the movie anyway. Furthermore, suppose that you're on the production team of this Disney project, charged with casting the lead roles, picking a director and even deciding if Princess of Mars will be a animated film or a live action film. Also, suppose that that this movie is going to take up the OTL backing given to Black Hole and Tron.

Who do you go for, for in the lead roles? Who do you look for, to direct? Would you try and keep it kid-friendly to eat at Star Wars, or would this (much like Black Hole and Tron) be of a slightly more teen-friendly rating?

(On an interesting sidenote, Animator Bob Clampett initially proposed to do a full feature-length animation of Princess of Mars in 1931, which if agreed to by his MGM bosses could have preceded Snow White as the first animated film)
 
Tom Cruise
Miscast! Terrible miscast!

teen-friendly
But did Star Wars not be filmed with a focus on teenagers? I think that John Carter, as an action adventure with a beautiful sweetheart, will be focused on teenagers ... although I’m afraid they wouldn’t decide to make the film more “boyish” and ruin the whole romantic line.

Give the key role to Nic Cage!
Miscast! Terrible miscast!

(On an interesting sidenote, Animator Bob Clampett initially proposed to do a full feature-length animation of Princess of Mars in 1931, which if agreed to by his MGM bosses could have preceded Snow White as the first animated film)
Not really - John Carter from Mars was planned as a series of short films. In total there should have been 10 paintings, each with an independent plot. Think of Superman cartoons.
 
Would you try and keep it kid-friendly
Kid Friendly?
Family turned to crispy critters, and the Walrus guy got his arm whacked off.

Will you claim the Droid torture as kid friendly too?
droid-torture.gif
 
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