Trailer Talk: 'John Carter of Mars' Is No 'Prince of Persia'

The first trailer was recently released for the upcoming adaptation of John Carter Of Mars. What followed across Internet boards was quite surprising. First, here’s a look at the trailer:

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The way the character jumps and moves around reminded audiences of other such adventurer…

“This guy…”

Yes, none other than Jake Gyllenhall in 2010′s Prince of Persia. Many web talkers even went a step further and suggested John’s future box office chances will be the same as Persia. It should be noted that while Prince of Persia’s domestic box office gross was a disappointing $90 million, it did gross over $335 million dollars worldwide, which isn’t too shabby.

Still, for those wanting to make the connection between the two, here are four reasons why John is no Prince, and why that’s a good thing.

1. No Industry Strikes

The 2007-2008 writer’s strike devastated the film industry. This prompted Disney to delay shooting on Prince Of Persia until it was resolved. This was all well and good, but then the film ran into the subsequent Screen Actors Guild “potential” strike that lasted a few years. Persia couldn’t catch a break. Industry troubles both distracted and rushed the production.

2. John Carter Has Never Enjoyed a Successful Adaptation:

The audience is hungry for one that satisfies their strong bond to the source material. While there have been various attempts in the past, none has fared very well. An audience hungry for a serious adaptation bodes well. Also, Prince Of Persia was based off a video game instead of a novel. This creates a huge difference in the way these two films craft their narratives.

3. John Carter Captures a True Sense of “Escapism”

Let’s face it, escapism can work very well in science fiction. Being transported to new worlds, meeting vast cultures, and the witnessing the struggle to help those in need, is always the promise of a new sci-fi universe. John Carter travels to a vast and diverse worlds while Prince Of Persia stayed put in ours.

4. No Jake Gyllenhall

Le’s be brutally honest. Jake Gyllenhall has had his moments (Brokeback Mountain, Donnie Darko). But outside of these smaller films, he struggles at the box office, especially when he’s the lead. This includes recent box office disappointments such as Source Code and Love, Drugs, and Other Things. So it came as no surprise that he struggled with audience support with Prince of Persia. John Carter stars Taylor Kitsch, who may not have Mr. Gyllenhall’s film experience, but he also doesn’t carry Gylenhall’s baggage.

The future looks bright for John Carter of Mars, especially if the marketing push is right, and if so, we predict it will out-gross Prince of Persia when it opens next March.