John Carter Of Mars Is Getting an Action-Packed Romance RPG
Disney might have soured a few people on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic scifi saga, but John Carter and the world of Barsoom, Mars have been reborn with a new roleplaying game.
The 8 Most Inaccurate Depictions of Mars Ever Put on Film
These days, we know more about Mars than ever before, thanks to the work of NASA and other space agencies. But science fiction movies have been fascinated with Mars for decades—giving rise to big-screen portrayals of the Red Planet that are often fantastic, insane, and sometimes ridiculously fun. And so, so wrong.
Get Ready To Appreciate The Fantasy Art of Frank Frazetta on a Whole New Level! [NSFW]
Chances are you’ve admired the bold, dramatic paintings of Frank Frazetta. But you haven’t seen the best of his art. A huge collection of his sketches, drawings and watercolor paintings is going up for sale—and you could gain a new appreciation for the master. Warning: NSFW images below!
Witness The John Carter Film That Could Have Been
People have been trying to make Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom novels and his iconic hero John Carter of Mars into films since the 1930s, and it wasn’t until 2012 that Andrew Stanton released his adaptation. Now, a Presentation Reel of another adaptation has surfaced, and showed us what we might have gotten.
Is The "Fix-Up" The Best Kind Of Science Fiction Novel There Is?
Everybody knows that short stories are where science fiction writers really get to experiment, and the most perfect pieces of narrative often happen at shorter lengths. But we also love to explore a world at the length of a whole book. So that makes the "fix-up" the best of both worlds, right?
This Call Of Duty Teaser Is The Power Suit Rampage Every Friday Needs
Taylor Kitsch — John Carter of Mars himself — is the greatest sidekick/mentor ever, in this teaser for the new game Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. This is basically two minutes of power-suit mayhem, with Kitsch saying the weirdest quips ever.
John Carter Of Mars Rights Revert Back to Edgar Rice Burroughs
Disney's rights to the John Carter series of stories have reverted back to Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. But does anyone want to buy it?
Andrew Stanton Teases The John Carter Sequel We'll Never See
Perhaps it was all the recent "John Carter 2 could have been awesome" reports, but for reasons unknown, Andrew Stanton has tweeted the title cards to the John Carter movies we'll never see.
The John Carter Sequel We're Never Getting Would've Been "Awesome"
Just in case you're forgotten how sad it is that Disney's first John Carter movie bombed — thanks to a horrific ad campaign more than any fault of the movie's own — star Taylor Kitsch told Variety "the second script was fucking awesome." Sigh.
Science Fiction vs. Fantasy Round One: Space Opera and Epic Fantasy!
In this year's edition of io9 March Madness, we're on a quest to find the greatest series in all of science fiction and fantasy. On Wednesday, we kicked things off by making eight classics battle it out just to make it into the tourney. Now it's time to start voting on the round of 64!
Great Concept Art for the Science Fiction Museum We Desperately Want
We've told you before about the Museum of Science Fiction in Washington, DC, which is currently trying to raise money to open in 2017. But now Wired has posted some fantastic concept art, showing just how astonishing the exhibitions could be.
What ever happened to the "advanced civilization gone barbaric" story?
It used to be a mainstay of science fiction: the story where we visit a barbarian society that turns out to have been highly technologically advanced in the past. You saw this story all the time on Doctor Who and Star Trek, and in the pulps. And now, it's more or less vanished. What happened?
What's the best movie that failed at the box office?
We were depressed to hear early predictions that Pacific Rim would be a box office bomb. Let's hope it's not true — but there have been plenty of decent or great movies that underperformed in theaters. What's YOUR candidate for the best movie that audiences just didn't show up for?
The Real Reason Why Science Fiction Westerns Are Such a Hard Sell
On Monday, Syfy launches its $100 million show Defiance, which is full of Wild West tropes, and this summer we're getting the fantasy-oriented Lone Ranger. Lately, tons of people have tried to combine the rollicking Western with the wider expanses of science fiction and fantasy. And they've failed financially. For one…
10 Decent Movies That Were Doomed by Unfair Memes
Sometimes a movie sparks everybody's imagination months before it comes out. When a film gets talked about, that's usually a good thing — and it's an even better thing when it becomes the subject of memes and ideas. Unless those memes totally misrepresent what the movie's about, and wind up killing all interest in…
The Most Baffling Pop Culture Moments of 2012
Whether you feel 2012 has been a good year or a bad year, we can all probably agree that it's been a confusing year. A lot of weird things happened over the last 12 months — things we still can't quite believe occurred (and/or got approved by actual human beings). Here's eight things that happened in 2012 that we're…
Side-by-Side Comparisons Reveal The Magic of Motion Capture
From Beowulf to Avatar, motion capture technology has come a very long way. Did you know Andy Serkis was originally hired as just a voice actor for the role of Gollum? Only to have his performance re-recorded months later, on a mocap stage. Today the little monster from records his expressions on The Hobbit's set,…
An amazing behind-the-scenes look at the animation behind John Carter
John Carter may not have conquered the box office, but this groovy animator's-eye-view of the special effects workflow shows just how much effort it took to bring Mars to life. Watch as Blue Sky Studios animator Patrick Giusiano pushes around (folks who I'm assuming are) his family members to give the Tharks' baby…
Watch the alternate opening sequence of John Carter. Could it have helped the movie?
John Carter of Mars was sadly complicated and did not take any breaks to let the audience catch up with the complicated backstory of Barsoom. But in its defense, this movie had a hefty load of source material to adapt. Would it all have been easier to follow if Andrew Stanton had used this original introduction? Is…
Retro Science Fiction Movies that Everybody Should See
The greatest science fiction movies don't just have cool ideas or an unforgettable story — they also have a distinctive visual style. And a lot of our favorite films reach back into the past, for retro visions of the future that look even cooler than ever, because they've become classic.
